Broken Bond
by Karristan
Summary: Their battle only left scars of their past open and more fragile. One wants to reconcile and the other wants only to forget the past. With a turn of events an opinion is changed but can the hatred and pain be forgotten? T for alcohol&nondescript nudity.
1. Remnants

_A head's up this story is a bit slow because it focuses on Soi Fong and she isn't type to interact with people much and she would try and work out her problems on her own making it impossible for her to ask for advice and to even take it if it was given to her. Therefore her problems are sorted out in her mind and not conversation. I tried to keep this as realistic as possible and as close to the actual story as I can. Though Yoruichi is a little out of character at times it is to bring up the conflict inside Soi Fong._

_This was done out of request and sorry if it wasn't what you wanted. Also there is subtextings of a running joke that brings new meaning to the phrase 'getting pussy' and 'Whiskas' commercials._

**Disclaimer: **I own nothing related to this story and the idea for it wasn't mine either. I can however claim that I requested the request. lol

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><p><strong>Broken Bonds<strong>

**1 - Remnants**

It has been a couple months since the return of the former superior and the current superior was edgy about the formers return. Everything the former was now is a complete contradiction of what the current is now. There could be no bond between them greater then leader and subordinate. But now the subordinate had become the leader and the former leader had been exiled. Their bond has been diminished to nothing but a bitter memory.

It was strange for their holds of power to be reversed. It was hard to except at first but was eventually forgotten along with the former superior. But then that person returned and they had fought each other. The former had proved to be far more powerful then the current and the fight ended with tears and lost pride.

There was still enough pride to assure the current leaders poise on the outside but on the inside she was destroyed and lost. On the inside she was nothing but filth once more. The former had spared her life and left her with nothing but questions and a glance at what she had lost when the former was exiled. She had recalled all the pain of losing her superior, who had meant so much to her all those years ago. It had been so long and she thought, no she _believed_ that there was no more attachment. But she had been proven wrong in the instant the former revealed herself; Shihouin, Yoruichi.

The instant she saw Yoruichi's face all the pain from being left behind came back to her. It was quiet at first but when the tables started to turn and Yoruichi began to have the upper hand all the pain came back in full and even worse as her fear of being left behind returned to her once more.

The leader knew she could dwell on these things forever and had done her best to move past it. It has already been half a year now and there was no forgiveness between them and the pride was still lost. Even when they saw each other the former made small attempts at conversation only to be ignored. The leader would deny all attempts that woman made

There would be nothing more between them other then their past. Even now when Yoruichi tried to reform their bond the current knew there was no way it would work. No longer was she the child that needed someone to look up to. She did not want to be attached to Yoruichi anymore. She could no longer allow herself to be weak or hurt.

Yoruichi would only leave again and there would only be new scars made. Scars that would never heal but only scab over and remain that way until a new form of pain came and tore at the old wounds. Any form of emotional conflict will tear the wound open once more and leave it deeper and more vulnerable. That's how the wounds of a broken bond are. Any reconciliation only leaves the bearer weaker and easier to break.

The female Captain knew that better then anyone. Yoruichi was never one to be tied down by anyone or any formalities or duties. She had always been free to do what she pleased. Not one person in all of Seireitei could stop her from that. Any bond she formed with someone would last only a short time then she would leave them when she had her fill.

The Captain was observing the training of the Special Ops unit while her Vice-Captain Oomeada stood beside her stuffing his face with that greasy food that he was so fond of. She observed the new trainees with a strict eye and the senior members with an even stricter eye. She could not allow them to lose in a battle ever again.

Anger filled the Captain as Oomeada crunched away beside her and occasionally sprayed her with crumbs. The Captain ignored his presence completely. He was a disgrace to the Gotei 13 but because of his noble status here he was. He had no place in squad two and many knew that but his nobility confirmed his position.

"Captain Soi Fong," Oomeada said slowly.

"What is it?" Soi Fong answered coldly.

"There's a cat here." He said.

Soi Fong followed his gaze and did indeed see a cat sitting on the wall simply observing the training in progress. The Captain narrowed her eyes in anger as the cat glanced over at her. Cold grey eyes met emotionless gold eyes that showed no sense of remorse. All remorse had long since been lost.

Soi Fong shot the cat her utmost loathing glare trying her best to hide the hurt she felt when ever this presence was near her. She hated the sense of comfort it held. She hated everything about that cat and its true form. She turned away in disgust when the cat jumped from the wall and disappeared from sight but its presence still lingered in Soi Fong's mind. How long would Yoruichi haunt Soi Fong with her presence?

The Captain scoffed in disgust as the small reiatsu vanished. She turned to leave no longer interested in the Special Ops training. Oomeada followed close behind her like the dog that he was and questioned his captain's actions to no avail as Soi Fong was ignoring him once more. His presence was as welcome to her as the cat was in her mind. Her hatred of them was grater then anything she had ever known with the exception of one man.

She was deep in thought as to why Yoruichi was so persistent in haunting her so much and even appearing at the training session when she had nothing to do with them anymore. Soi Fong had been invited for a reconciliation on past conflicts but she had cast it aside at once disgusted by the offer of another bond. She wanted nothing of the sort and never would want anything like that again. Not with anybody. She never wanted to feel the pain of abandonment again.

She walked swiftly to her barracks while Oomeada followed closely and kept up his usual repetitive talk of useless matters. Soi Fong ignored him as she always did and walked in silence the rest of the way. He must have noticed where she was going but he persisted anyways. He undoubtedly had his mind filled with trash as it usual was when they walked alone.

Oomeada believed that because the two of them were of nobility they should be an item. Soi Fong scoffed in disgust once more as she reached her barracks and Oomeada was still following her. She quickly entered and slammed the door shut behind her denying her Vise-Captain another word or even the briefest of an argument.

She wanted nothing more to do with him this evening. She wanted nothing to do with anyone for the rest of this day. Soi Fong made her way to the bed and collapsed onto it as all the pain she had been feeling daily began to surface again. All she could do to prevent her tears is clench her fists as tight as she could and focus on the anger that coursed through her for her former mentor.

The presence of Oomeada still lingered around her barracks as if he were just waiting for her to come out or something equally improbable. He had his hopes held far too high for his own good. He would depart soon and she would be alone in this part of the barracks. She had the only room in this part and she was grateful for it. Just being near anyone was an annoyance to her while she was in this state of emotional weakness.

She lied on her bed until very late at night thinking over the fight she had with Yoruichi making her anger rise and her pride lessen to a lower amount. Soi Fong couldn't afford to be this weak nor could she stand the thought of having any weakness at all. It was worse then being in the presence of both Yoruichi and Oomeada at the same time. Unfortunately, she already had that displeasure once today.

She looked out the single window in her room and found the moon already high in the sky. Soi Fong rose from her bed and left the room slinging her Zanpakutou under her sash along the way. Her walk was quick and unnoticed by anyone that was still around or awake but at this time they were all sleeping.

Though, some of the senior members of the Special Ops were gone off to have drinks with Yoruichi. Her anger filled her along with hurt as even her Special Ops members were slowly abandoning her for their former leader. Soi Fong went deep into the training grounds. It was where she always went to train her skills in silence and with no prying eyes.

She didn't need anyone to help her hone her skills. She would do that on her own and she would surpass Yoruichi on her own. Soi Fong needed no help from others. They would just weigh her down even more then her current confusion already was. These distractions were doing nothing for her but slowing her down. She couldn't concentrate like this and it was beginning to show in her training.

Soi Fong's swings weren't concentrated as they wobbled and made her lose her balance. Her stances were not as strong as they used to be and her speed was faltered as well. But her stops were the worst. Using shunpo was still fine but pulling out of it and stopping had left her off balance more then once.

Soi Fong scoffed at her own incompetence as she kicked the dirt in frustration. She was so upset with herself she had yet to notice the set of eyes that had found her. She had been unknowingly watched the whole time she was out there training and pushing herself more then she should have. The eyes narrowed at her as Soi Fong collapsed in her stress and exhaustion.

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><p>Soi Fong awoke as she quickly shot up into a sitting position. She glanced around and found she was back in her room. Everything was as it should be but she didn't remember returning nor did she recall leaving her closet wide open. She felt a bit of movement on her bed and turned only to be shocked at what she saw.<p>

Yoruichi was lying with her wearing only an open kimono which was much too small on the taller woman and barely covered her. Soi Fong felt her anger burn in her face at the sight of the other girl lying with her. She grit her teeth as the other woman stirred in her sleep. The golden eyes slowly opened as Yoruichi awoke to find Soi Fong glaring down at her with a deep loathing.

She sat up as well. Her eyes showed her concern and it radiated in her voice as she spoke, "Are you alright?"

Soi Fong looked away and got off the bed with a scoff, "Get out. I don't want to see you."

"Little Bee, don't be like that." Yoruichi said in an upset tone. "You collapsed out there. I couldn't just leave you like that, who knew what could have happened to you."

"Don't you dare call me that!" Soi Fong snapped at her former commander. "You have no right to ever call me that."

Soi Fong turned in time to see the hurt look on Yoruichi face. It didn't faze her as much as it would have a long time ago and she was happy about it. All this look did now was fuel her anger at Yoruichi's betrayal. Nothing could heal her scars and nothing will make her forget the pain nor will anything take away the pain that is to come from this woman.

Yoruichi got off the bed in silence as Soi Fong looked away in disgust unbeknownst to her that Yoruichi had no intention of leaving as of yet and quickly found herself pinned to the wall by the older woman. With them being so close to each other now Soi Fong could no longer deny the pain that held Yoruichi's eyes. Nor could she deny the pain that it caused her to see what she was doing to this woman.

"You are in no position to tell me what I can or can't do." Yoruichi said as Soi Fong struggled to free herself. "I won't leave here until you agree to sort things out with me. But if it pleases you I will stop calling you by your nickname for the time being."

"Get out." Soi Fong bitterly spat at Yoruichi despite her pain and sorrow of her wounds reopening. "I hate you!"

Yoruichi withdrew a little but held a firm grip on the smaller girl. Soi Fong had no escape from this situation as much as she wanted to. She hated not being in control almost as much as she hated this woman. But she couldn't say that with the hurt look in Yoruichi's eyes. Her pain ran as deep as Soi Fong's own pain.

Despite the pain they shared Soi Fong continued to glare at the older woman. There was nothing that could take away the past and trying would only make it worse. Soi Fong didn't want to feel anymore pain because of this woman that held her against the wall.

"I know I haven't been entirely honest with you and I'm sorry." Yoruichi said. "I want to make things right between us, Soi Fong. That's all I want."

Soi Fong remained defiant as she looked away from the hurt gold eyes. She couldn't stand the sight of them any longer. "All I want is you out of my life."

Yoruichi looked at Soi Fong sadly as she turned the girl's face towards her own. Their eyes met for a moment before Yoruichi closed the gap between them and kissed Soi Fong. The bold action shocked the younger girl but what shocked her most was when Yoruichi entered her mouth and pulled the smaller girl closer to her.

The kiss broke and Soi Fong managed to push Yoruichi away from her. Yoruichi looked a little hurt from Soi Fong's reaction but some of her other pain seemed to have vanished. Soi Fong glared at the older women for a moment as there was a loud slapping sound that almost echoed through the room.

Yoruichi looked at Soi Fong with a heartbroken expression as her cheek slowly became a slight shade of red while tears began to form in her eyes. Yoruichi took a step back completely hurt by the smaller girl. There eyes met and Soi Fong continued her glare with no remorse even as she spoke, "Get out of my room."

"Soi, I-" Yoruichi started but didn't know how to finish.

Soi Fong scoffed and looked away. "Get out. I have no reason to entertain you any further."

"Can I apologize?" Yoruichi asked. "I don't want you to hate me."

"Don't waste either of our time." Soi Fong said coldly. "You already did everything you needed to assure my hatred of you."

"Soi," Yoruichi reached out to Soi Fong only to have her hand smacked away.

"Don't even touch me. Get out!" Soi Fong shouted. "I hate you!"

Yoruichi looked downcast as she averted her eyes and began taking off Soi Fong's robe. "Keep it, just get out."

Yoruichi disappeared after giving Soi Fong one final hurt look. The girl's legs began to shake as she collapsed against the wall. Her fingers gently grazed her lips where Yoruichi's own had touched as a strong blush grew on her face. Her heart raced as she recalled the odd taste of it and the strong emotion that accompanied the action as well. Soi Fong's legs began to shake too much to support her own weight and she slid to the ground in shock.

Her shock remained until the sun rose and she hadn't moved an inch since she first fell to the ground. Soi Fong wasn't even aware of the time until she heard Oomeada banging on her door snapping her out of her shock. She tore her eyes away from the bed across from her and to the door where an insistent knocking persisted. Her anger returned to her as Oomeada opened the door and came in without permission of any kind.

"Captain Soi Fong, what happened?" He demanded upon finding her collapsed on the floor. "Are you injured? Let me help you."

He ran to her side quickly much to her annoyance. As soon as he was crouched beside her she swiftly punched him in the face sending him flying back a little. Soi Fong stood up and found her legs were still shaky from the kiss that Yoruichi had taken from her.

Oomeada was up and by her side the instant she left the room. Soi Fong was even more lost to his talking then normal as her mind was on other matters. Though after spending hours dwelling on the kiss itself now her mind was on the conversation they had. More precisely that Yoruichi had repurposed the two of them reconcile for past mistakes.

It was clear to Soi Fong that Yoruichi didn't just want to 'reconcile' it was more then that. It was something they didn't have before but the girl still didn't want anything between them. At least that's what she believed yesterday but with what happened between them she was no longer sure what she wanted. She was unsure about everything now.

"Captain, is everything alright?" Oomeada said loudly. "Does your lip hurt?"

Soi Fong snapped out of her daze and found her fingers grazing her lips once more. She blinked in shock before dropping her hand to her side. "It's fine. Nothing's wrong."

"Are you sure? Do you want me to-" He was cut off as Soi Fong once again punched him in the face.

"Nothing is wrong." She said as cold as possible. On the contrary however, nothing was right for her now. Everything was backwards to her and nothing made sense. She was unsure if she wanted to accept Yoruichi's offer or that she even could after that hurt look. Soi Fong was even confused about whether or not Yoruichi's hurt look should even bother her or not. "Everything is fine."

Her last comment was a mumble that she could barely even hear and undoubtedly Oomeada hadn't even noticed she had said anything at all after the hit to the face. His density infuriated her and relieved some of the stress of her current lack of concentration. Perhaps she should get some training done today or just focus on other simple tasks to distract herself from her troubles.

She gave Oomeada an angered look as they reached the head office of squad twos quarters. They sat at their own desks and started on their daily paperwork. Soi Fong looked at the stack of paper with discouragement. She knew it had to be done but she was far too distracted to do any of this. She knew that if she didn't do her work as she normally did it would cause Oomeada to open his mouth again. It was then only thing he was ever good at.

Soi Fong glanced out the window and caught herself wondering if she would see that black cat again. Her attention was snapped back to her work and she started it but soon found herself distracted once more on thoughts of the golden eyes watching her before their lips met. The soft caring look Yoruichi had held in her eyes calmed Soi Fong's anger and sorrow.

She stared at her paperwork for awhile and got absolutely nowhere. She rose and walked out ignoring all questions that came her way from Oomeada before he scrambled after her. Her pace was quicker then usual and more then her Vice-Captain could handle without jogging and quickly working up a sweat. Soi Fong completely ignored his presence once more as he showered her with questions.

By the time she was out of the building the small amount of patience she had was long gone. Soi Fong took off using shunpo knowing that Oomeada wasn't fast enough to keep up with her. She stumbled to a stop at the execution grounds and looked out over Seireitei. Once more her mind was consumed with the cat.

There was a slight flash of reiatsu behind her making her turn but there was nothing there. The presence of the reiatsu was gone too quickly for her to identify it but she knew it was familiar. She kept up her guard as she looked around more carefully scanning the area for any sign of life. When she saw nothing she turned her attention back over Seireitei as she wondered where the cat had gone.

Soi Fong knew she had to clear her mind of all these thoughts and distractions. They were of no use to her. If any bond were to be formed with Yoruichi then all that would follow would be betrayal just like their last bond. After that Soi Fong hadn't formed a bond with anyone. She had no weakness to be used against her and she never will. Any type of emotional bond was useless to her and would only make her vulnerable.

She had believed that for so long it had become a code for her. There was nothing that could stand in her way and nothing to stop her from living her life as she wishes. Not even her former mentor. But even she had beaten Soi Fong. She accepted no excuses for her own defeat.

She had to become what she was before Yoruichi's return. Since her return Soi Fong had once again become weak and vulnerable. Ever since her defeat and her life had been spared when it shouldn't have been she held no resolve to become stronger. The desire was there but not the determination to achieve greater strength. She didn't even hold the resolve to reclaim her lost pride.

If she were to remain in this state then she would lose her rank and whatever was left of her pride. She needed to get stronger but her abilities were that of a novice compared to how she was before. In only a few months all her abilities had been completely dulled. She could do nothing but wait for her fall now. If she couldn't become stronger her end will come sooner then she had thought.

No one could know about her current weakness. She had to appear strong to anyone that would oppose her for her rank. Even the Special Ops had to be kept under a more careful watch. They had been spending too many nights in the pubs lately to drink with Yoruichi. Soi Fong was well aware that if Yoruichi decided she wanted to return to the Gotei 13 there would be nothing Soi Fong would be able to do. She would lose her rank in an instant and if she were spared for a second time she would not only be disgraced but thrown away like garbage.

She had to prevent that from happening to her. She couldn't lose to Yoruichi. Not ever again. Soi Fong unsheathed her Zanpakutou and took up her stance. Before she began her training she decided it would be best to self evaluated her stance and found it to be weak and not sturdy at all. She straightened herself up before picking up her stance one more. This is where she would start.

She worked on her stance for a while until she found they had improved enough for the time being. Offence was next and she found her swings had only gotten worse since the previous night. This only served to fuel her self-hatred as she was well aware that her defense was very weak as well but with no one to train with her defense was understandably quite lacking. However her speed made up for that and she could dodge attacks instead of blocking them. Dodging attacks left the opponent open for a short moment but more then enough times that moment had been all she needed to dispatch an enemy. Though, if her enemy were Yoruichi her speed would not be enough to save her. That had already been proven.

She clenched her hand tightly around her Zanpakutou in her anger before there was another small flash of reiatsu near her. She turned to find the source but once again there was nothing there. Soi Fong narrowed her eyes as she searched the grounds for anything. She eyed everything with hatred. Even the ground itself didn't escape her anger.

She already knew what was happening however. She was being watched whether it's now or while she was training. If they were watching her train it was bad. They would have seen how weak she had become now. It was only a matter of time before it happened. She would probably have to rely on the Special Ops to survive this but the thought of hiding behind them disgusted her. If they came after her she would die a warrior's death, not a dog's.

Even if she was no match for whatever watched her now she would wait for it to make its move no matter how long that would take. She would not run from her fate. If this was it then so be it. Soi Fong was prepared for her death whether it came now or later.


	2. Unwanted Guidence

**Disclaimer: **I do not own bleach**  
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><p><strong>2 – Unwanted guidance<strong>

It had gotten late and nothing had happened so Soi Fong had simply decided to return to her barracks to try and get some rest. Along the way she passed by one of the local pubs and had glanced in for a moment before walking past. There was no doubt that Yoruichi was in there drinking it up with an increasing amount of the Special Ops forces.

Soi Fong walked down the street quickly only to encounter a few already drunk soul reapers. From their style they were clearly squad eleven and from their topic of choice it guaranteed it. Soi Fong walked by them in disgust and they paid no attention to her as she did so.

As she turned down another street she encountered squad four's Vice-Captain Isane. Isane offered a wave and walked over to her with a smile, "Is everything alright, Captain Soi Fong?"

"I'm fine." Soi Fong said bluntly trying to get away.

"Your Vice-Captain said you were acting odd today. Is there anything bothering you?" Isane pried.

"Nothing is bothering me." Soi Fong said quickly to hide everything on her mind.

"Really," Isane said skeptically. "You don't have to hide things. Why not have a couple of drinks with me?"

"No thank you." She replied rudely. "I don't want to be anywhere close to that place or her."

Isane looked taken aback for a moment before smiling with understanding. "If you're talking about Yoruichi, she has seemed to have disappeared this morning without a trace."

Soi Fong grits her teeth in anger once more at the news that Yoruichi had disappeared again. She was grateful for not agreeing to try to reform their destroyed bond. No good will ever come out of that woman. Not in the past, not now, and certainly not in the future.

"I might just take you up on your offer after all." Soi Fong said through grit teeth as her anger rose even higher.

"Great," Isane said with a smile before they walked down the street. "You know, I never pictured you as the type to drink."

"I don't drink." Soi Fong admitted.

"Then why did you agree to this?" Isane asked. "I mean if you don't want to drink then you don't have to join me. I'm not forcing you."

Soi Fong gave the Vice-Captain an angered look as she talked. Isane noticed her anger and dropped eye contact and said, "Not that I would be able to force you into anything."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Soi Fong asked while picking up her guard.

"Well, you don't really listen to anyone unless they're a Captain and even then you still do things the way you want them done." Isane answered with a smile. "Not even Oomeada has a say in what happens."

"Oomeada's a fool." Soi Fong said simply but was pleased what Isane had said. "He should not be the rank of a Vice-Captain."

"Don't you think you're being a little too hard on him? I mean he does everything he can to please you and you don't even give him a second glance."

"He doesn't deserve it and if he really wants to please me he would stop trying." Soi Fong said as her thoughts went back to Yoruichi.

They entered the bar and a lot of soul reapers stopped to look over at them as if frightened of Soi Fong. Their fear pleased Soi Fong as she was reassured that no one would come for her rank anytime soon and when they did she would be much stronger then she is now.

The two made their way into a small booth in the far corner and took their seats in silence. It wasn't long before their drinks were ordered and brought to them by the barmaid, who also seemed a little nervous of the Captains presence. When she left the two took their drinks.

While Isane drank immediately Soi Fong hesitated before bringing it to her lips. Before the cup even made contact with her lips she caught the sent of it. She recognized it but couldn't place it so she took a quick sip to get the taste.

She placed the cup down immediately. She knew exactly where she had smelt this before even where she had tasted it. Soi Fong had smelt this on Yoruichi's breath and tasted it on her lips when she had been pinned to the wall early in the morning.

"Is everything alright?" Isane asked noticing the Captain's anger.

"This wasn't a good idea after all." She replied but before she could get up to leave Vice-Captain Matsumoto and third seat Ikkaku came into view and joined them without word and blocked her exit.

Soi Fong gave them an angered look as Matsumoto practically clung to her while she slurred, "I didn't know you came here, Soi Fong."

Soi Fong forced the drunken girl away from her. "That's Captain Soi Fong and I was just leaving."

"Aw, don't be like that the night's still young." She argued as more drinks arrived for them. Matsumoto quickly gave Soi Fong a drink and when she refused to take it Matsumoto gave her a strange look. "Normally you should be overjoyed about drinking."

"She's not like you, Rangiku." Ikkaku said from across the table as he downed his drink. "Let her alone."

The two newcomers downed two more drinks each before Soi Fong picked up the drink Matsumoto gave her. Once more she hesitated as she took in the smell of it recalling what had happened to her. It was clear now that Yoruichi wasn't herself before but that still did not forgive her actions.

When Soi Fong had finished her drink and went to place it back on the table she found there was another full cup in front of her. She looked at the other three but they already seemed to be drunk and didn't notice her anger.

Soi Fong took the new cup and drank from it with a little less hesitation then before. Her thoughts of the cat slowly seemed to be dispersing the more she drank the sake. She finished her drink and was a little disappointed to not find another set in front of her.

"It's very strange to see you drink." Ikkaku said.

Soi Fong glanced up and saw the other three watching her. She felt her face flush a little with an odd embarrassment she didn't know she had. "I should leave."

Before she could get up Matsumoto had her by the shoulders and inspected her closely. The smell of the sake on her breath made her shiver and look away. "Something happened to you. You're uncomfortable with it."

Matsumoto looked at the other two and said, "More drinks."

The others cheered as Matsumoto released Soi Fong, who increased the distance between them. She was now leaning against the wall as Isane gave her a worried look. Out of the other three she seemed to be the least drunk. "Do you want to talk about it, Captain Soi Fong?"

"It's nothing." Soi Fong said as her blush increased as she recalled what had happened to her.

"Is that why you're blushing then?" Matsumoto said poking at the increasing blush on Soi Fong's face. "You can tell us. Come on, it's not like we'll tell anyone else."

"I think you mean; it's not like we'll remember anyways'." Ikkaku said with a grin.

"That's what I said, baldy." Matsumoto laughed as Ikkaku began to insult her.

"Just ignore them they get like this." Isane said with a smile. "But they are right I won't tell anyone and they won't remember anything. In fact, I'd be amazed if they even remember you being here tomorrow. If they do they won't believe it."

"There is still nothing to talk about." Soi Fong argued.

Isane gave her a worried look as the next round came and the drinks were passed around. Soi Fong took her drink and downed it in one shot. She put the cup down and noticed everyone's eyes were on her once more. She looked at each of them in turn with an increasing blush as she noticed Matsumoto coming closer to her once more.

"You're in denial." She slurred making Soi Fong retreat even more against the wall. "You need to let loose once in a while even if you're a Captain."

Soi Fong looked away and noticed the encouraging look on Isane's face. It didn't give her the courage or the need to speak of her distractions but it helped her relax a little if only that. She noticed Matsumoto slid another drink in front of her but she didn't take it. Already she was starting to feel the effects of it. If she had anymore who knew what would happen next. If alcohol was enough to make Yoruichi act in such a way she didn't want to know what it would make her do and she felt as though she had already lost enough dignity.

Matsumoto turned Soi Fong so they were looking at each other so she could once again inspect the other girl. Soi Fong felt a little afraid of what was going to happen as Matsumoto pulled away laughing. "I don't believe it, you fell for someone."

The others looked at the captain in shock as her face boiled with anger. "I haven't fallen for anyone."

"Then what's with that lost and confused look in our eyes?" Matsumoto said.

"I don't have feelings for anyone. It's-" She hesitated before giving in. "The other way around."

Matsumoto's laugh quieted down for an instant as she thought about it before Ikkaku burst out laughing making Matsumoto join him. Isane hadn't removed her gaze from the blushing Captain as she hunched over the table to get a little closer. "Do you need any advice?"

"Hardly," Soi Fong scoffed. "I already made my hatred clear."

Isane let out a sigh. "I can understand your reasoning but lighten up on him. Sure he's a jerk and completely unappealing but he really cares about you."

"Who are you talking about?" Soi Fong questioned as she was lost to what the Vice-Captain was trying to say.

"Aren't you talking about Oomeada?" Isane asked making more laughter erupt beside them.

"That pig is of absolutely no interest to me." Soi Fong scoffed. "It's someone else that I have equally no interest in."

"That's a big claim coming from a small girl like you." Matsumoto said giddily clearly enjoying herself as Ikkaku tried to stifle a laugh. "Why not just give this guy a chance? Who knows you might like it. Trust me it is amazing what guys can do."

Soi Fong scoffed at her conclusion. Ikkaku looked at her a bit more seriously then Matsumoto as he spoke up, "How far have the two of you gone? Or has he only admitted his feelings?"

Soi Fong looked away ashamed as she said, "I was kissed."

"How did you feel about it?" He asked. "If you liked it then you probably like him if not dump him."

Soi Fong picked up the drink in front of her and downed it in one go before getting the courage to answer his question, "I don't know. It was pretty sudden."

"Alright, if you were to be kissed again would you be able to tell the difference?" Matsumoto asked.

Soi Fong thought about it for a moment and recalled the hurt look in Yoruichi's eyes before she left and how Isane had told her she had disappeared again. "It won't be possible for it to happen again."

"You misunderstood me." Matsumoto said with a slight laugh. "What I meant was if someone else kissed you would you be able to tell the difference between them?"

"What are you say-" Soi Fong started but was cut off as Matsumoto kissed her. Soi Fong threw the girl off of her and out of the booth itself as she wiped her mouth with disgust. She stared down at Matsumoto with an intense loathing before leaving the table as Ikkaku burst out laughing.

She was close to the door when a bit of conversation drifted to her ears catching her attention. She looked in the direction it came from and found Captain Ukitake and Captain Shunsui at a close by table. Soi Fong hid herself and eves dropped on their conversation and heard, "… strange for her to not be here tonight. Do you think something happened?"

"I don't know," Captain Ukitake replied. "But it's already past midnight so she won't be coming."

"I remember a time when she would be here drinking with us all night, but that was back before she was exiled." Captain Shunsui said with disappointment. "Now every night at midnight she disappears and never with anything more then a light buzz. 'Off to see a friend', every night with that same excuse. Who does she visit that late at night?"

"I don't know but she has really changed in the last hundred years." Captain Ukitake said. "She seems to be a lot more dedicated to something."

"Or someone." Captain Shunsui said with a laugh.

Soi Fong had heard enough to know who they were speaking of but it had been the name that she heard that confirmed it and made her stop in the first place. She left in a hurry anxious to get back to her bed or to go continue her training. It was already past the time she normally went to train.

Every night for centuries Soi Fong would train in secret under the light of the moon. No one ever disturbed her and no one ever watched her. Not one soul in all of Seireitei knew of her midnight training and no one would ever learn of it. Not Oomeada or even the Special Ops unit knew or would ever find out about it. She didn't need Oomeada insisting that he be present for her training or even offer his assistance. Soi Fong needed no one to aid her.

Her mind drifted to the bit of conversation she had heard between the two Captains. She was curious as to who it was that Yoruichi visited every night. Though she was even more curious to know why the woman still bothered her so much. What she should be more concerned about was the actions of Matsumoto back at the bar.

They may have only been trying to help but she did not ask for their help nor did she need it. That kiss did nothing but bring back the hurt look in Yoruichi's eyes. The smell and taste were the only two things that had been the same. Other then that it was completely different and Soi Fong was even more confused. The only thing those three had helped her with was lowering her dignity and making her feel terrible about herself.

Now those pained golden eyes haunted her. Their image became more vivid whenever she closed her eyes. She quickened as the eyes became so clear to her that it was as if they were right in front of her along with their owner. Soi Fong had been the betrayer this time even if she was unaware of that fact.

Soi Fong turned a corner and encountered a few drunken soul reapers. One of them was leaning on the wall with no posture to speak of while the other three were crowded around him and were clearly drunk beyond reasoning. She walked by them quickly as the one on the wall glanced over at her, "Where are you off to so late at night sweet stuff?"

Soi Fong ignored them and kept walking but the four of them started after her. One of them took her by the shoulder and turned her around. He reeked of alcohol as he leaned over her and breathed in her face. "You look a little lost. Shall we show you the way?"

The others laughed as Soi Fong tried to shrug him off to no avail. Her senses and strength had been dulled from the alcohol she drank. There was nothing she could do to get away as the others surrounded her. The one that held her shoulders moved his hands down to her chest as he leaned closer to her. He forced her into a kiss and entered her mouth.

The kiss lasted only a moment before he fell to the ground. The others fell to the ground around her in an instant as she stood there shocked. She took a step back and looked around. Behind her one of the soul reapers was being hoisted from the ground by Yoruichi as she continued to brutally hit him in the face.

She was out of breath and swearing at the soul reaper in her fury. She stopped and looked over at Soi Fong dropping the soul reaper allowing him and the rest of his friends to run away. Yoruichi rose to her feet and approached Soi Fong. "Are you alright, Soi?"

Soi Fong nodded slowly as Yoruichi raised her hand to the girl's face before hesitating and dropping her hand away. Things became awkward between them quickly as they both avoided eye contact at the same time. A blush formed on Soi Fong's face as she recalled the kiss they had shared and the emotion behind it. The kiss she had with Matsumoto and that other soul reaper was nothing compared to the emotion held between the kiss with the woman before her. There had been so much emotion in that one action.

"I should go." Yoruichi said sadly.

She took a step away from her but was stopped by Soi Fong as she grabbed the older woman by the arm to prevent her leave. Their eyes met once more and Soi Fong's blush deepened as she spoke, "Don't go."

Yoruichi smiled down at Soi Fong as she came closer to the other girl. She reached out to her again and stopped to allow her hand to hover over the smaller girl's cheek. Soi Fong gave a small approving nod. Yoruichi gently placed her hand on Soi Fong's cheek with a smile. "Can we still make things right between us?"

Soi Fong nodded as she blushed even further. "You never really left me since you returned have you?"

"How could I?" Yoruichi replied getting a little closer. "You're my Little Bee, and you always will be."

They smiled at each other kindly before Yoruichi let her hand fall away from Soi Fong's face making the small girl's smile fade. But Yoruichi's smile remained as she spoke, "Shall we go?"


	3. Conflicts with the self

**Disclaimer:** I do not own bleach

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><p><strong><span>3 – Conflicts with the self<span>**

The two had returned to the Captain's barracks and Yoruichi laid Soi Fong onto the bed with a kind smile since the alcohol had taken its affect and the younger girl was having trouble doing things on her own. For the past half hour Soi Fong had been unable to stop smiling or blushing nor had she been able to let go of Yoruichi's hand either.

They now laid together, Soi Fong in Yoruichi's arms, as they slept peacefully. Soi Fong slept better then she had in the months since the two of them fought each other while Yoruichi slept longer and more comfortably then she had in over a century. Both of them were completely relaxed and enjoying the growing peace between them. There bond was slowly starting to reform even as they slept. Just the comfort of the other was enough.

Soi Fong began to stir in her sleep and awoke with a throbbing head and no recollection of how she had returned to her room or why there was someone in her bed with her. She shot up in a hurry only to be pulled back down by, not only the person with her but the skull splitting headache of her hangover as well.

She hit the bed softly and half rolled over as the other person propped herself up and positioned herself above Soi Fong. She was enraged as she saw Yoruichi in her bed with her once more but this time she wasn't given the opportunity to speak as the older woman placed two of her fingers on the captain's lips as she softly grazed them.

"You were tainted last night." Yoruichi said gently as Soi Fong's eyes widened as she recalled the drunken soul reapers. Following close behind that memory was the image of Yoruichi beating one of them up. "Shall I cleanse you of this filth?"

Soi Fong nodded slowly as Yoruichi lowered herself to claim her lips. This was the first kiss Soi Fong ever had that wasn't forced or that reeked of sake or any other type of alcohol and the first one she ever enjoyed. The woman kissing her had been the only person she had ever felt any attachment for. It pained Soi Fong when Yoruichi pulled away from the kiss.

Soi Fong wrapped one arm around Yoruichi to stop her from leaving and said, "It wasn't just my lips that were tainted."

Yoruichi smiled as she leaned down for another, yet deeper kiss. Soi Fong pulled her closer wanting all the pain of their past to vanish but just kissing each other couldn't do that. They both knew that it would take a long time before their bond had been fully reformed to what it once was and after that they would deepen it to a new degree as they would have more then what they had in the past. They would have what they both wanted but could never have.

It was different now. There were fewer boundaries and complications between them. Yoruichi was no longer recognized as a high-class noble nor was she the leader of the Shihouin clan or even a Captain of the Gotei 13. Soi Fong on the other hand was a Captain and no longer a servant. The boundaries of their bond had been dropped.

The only power Yoruichi had over Soi Fong was an oath that had been sworn long ago. An oath that could never be broken by anything lower then death although it suffered greatly with Yoruichi's exile. However, the oath was still in effect and it always would be. It was a life long oath that had been disobeyed for a hundred and ten years. Soi Fong knew she would have to make up for it by redoubling her efforts to please Yoruichi. She would also have to make up for hurting her the previous morning.

The two split apart panting for breath and smiling at the other kindly. They looked deep into each others eyes before there was a loud knock on the door announcing Oomeada's presence. The two broke eye contact and looked towards the door. A smile formed on Yoruichi's face as she said, "Until later then."

Without warning Yoruichi transformed into a cat and leapt out the window leaving Soi Fong with nothing but a blush and the woman's clothes, which had fallen off during the transformation. She sat up and stuffed them under the blankets as Oomeada opened the door. "Are you alright?"

His yelling only worsened Soi Fong's hangover as did her own voice as she spoke, "Why must you insist on yelling?"

"I was worried about you." He said without lowering his voice. "This is the second time I had to come get you. You're normally always at the office before me."

"Shut up and get out." Soi Fong said coldly. "I'll be in later. I have something to do first."

"Do you want me to accompany you?" Oomeada asked loudly.

"No, I'll be fine on my own." Soi Fong answered as her voice got colder with each word. "Just get to work. I'll return in an hour's time."

Oomeada gave her a concerned look which she ignored completely as she walked past him. He followed her closely as he continued to express his concern for her. With the way she felt now it was impossible to ignore him as he insisted on yelling after her.

Soi Fong was losing more then just her patience with him today. If he continued his yelling she would do more then just hit him. She would snap and probably kill him. It may have been a good thing that she left her Zanpakutou behind.

As they reached the training grounds she has had more then enough of his nonsense and used shunpo to escape his nonstop talking. She slowed to a stop close to squad four's sick area instead of going right there in case she lost her balance but she found that in her current condition her skills seemed to be sharper then they had been in the past few days. Though it may just be caused by her current illness. She was more aware of things she would normally overlook now.

Soi Fong walked the rest of the way in her usual fast pace to avoid suspicion even though that meant increasing her headache. She had to act as normal as possible though that would be easier said then done. She turned a corner quickly and saw a soul reaper going in the same direction she was. He was far ahead of her but close enough for her to notice he was rubbing his face.

Her eyes narrowed as she assumed it had been the soul reaper that Yoruichi had continuously hit in the face. He was no doubt feeling the effects of it even more now then when it happened. Soi Fong slowed her pace not wanting to be anywhere close to him. Just having him in her sight was sickening for her as she recalled being grabbed by his friend. At this moment she made a vow to herself that she would never drink again so nothing like that could ever happen. She had been lucky to have Yoruichi arrive when she did. If she hadn't shown up who knew what would have happened to her.

It took her double the time to get where she wanted to go because of her slowed pace but at least she didn't have to deal with being any closer to that soul reaper until it was necessary. As she entered the building she found Vice-Captain Isane tending to the beat up soul reaper but when she noticed Soi Fong's presence she left him for somebody else to take care of.

Isane made her way to Soi Fong quickly with a smile as she got close enough to speak without yelling she said, "I was expecting you, this way."

Isane lead Soi Fong out of the main room and down a few hallways into the quarters dining area. She brought the Captain to a table and excused herself leaving her at a complete loss. Soi Fong sat there silently waiting for Isane's return but soon the lighting in the room began to bother her. Everything here was too bright for her so she rested her head in her arms and continued to wait.

It wasn't long before Isane's return but Soi Fong didn't want to raise her head and expose her eyes to the light once more. She heard something being placed in front of her but she still didn't want to look up. "Eat this it will help with your hangover."

Soi Fong glanced up at the bowl of soup that had been placed in front of her. She turned her gaze to Isane who was sitting across from her with a smile. She offered a slight smile as she said, "Thanks."

"Things are good I take it." Isane said as Soi Fong started eating.

"It's fine." Soi Fong said though the soup was a little bland.

Isane chuckled, "I meant between you and Yoruichi. Not the soup."

Soi Fong coughed as bits of the soup got caught in her throat. When the soup had passed she looked at Isane with a deep blush on her face. Isane simply smiled at the Captain. "It was pretty obvious. The way you were acting strange and how you changed your mind about the drink when I told you Yoruichi had disappeared. Also that squad nine member telling me that Yoruichi beat him up when he and his friends were talking to you confirmed my suspicion."

"I wasn't talking to them." Soi Fong said angrily.

"The severity of his wounds already told me that." Isane said. "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine." Soi Fong said. "How did you know things went well?"

"You seem happy now." Isane said. "Also, I don't think I ever heard you thank anyone before. Although that could just be your hangover speaking."

Soi Fong offered a slight smile before going back to her soup in silence. She spoke between mouthfuls, "Things were going well I suppose."

"Only 'were'?" Isane said a little sadly.

"I don't think we talked much last night and we only had a moment this morning before we were interrupted." Soi Fong said. "Things have been postponed for later."

"So when is this 'later'?" Isane said only to get a shrug from the Captain. "Well, with the way things are now I doubt it will be long."

Soi Fong remained silent as she recalled how much Yoruichi had hated being tied down to something. Even her nobility had been unwelcome to her. So how could a low servant be anything in her eyes even if that servant was so much more then that now? Soi Fong was probably still next to nothing to Yoruichi.

"I should be getting back." Isane said as she got up. "Feel free to take your time. If it puts you at ease this conversation never happened and no one but the two of us recall what happened last night."

"Thank you," Soi Fong said as the Vice-Captain went back to her duties.

When Isane reached the door she stopped and looked back at Soi Fong and called, "By the way, that soul reaper will be in pain for a few days."

Soi Fong couldn't help but feel happy because of that. It was a strange feeling for her because the only form of happiness she ever felt was related directly to Yoruichi. Though this happiness was indirectly related to the woman it was not the same happiness she knew. It left her feeling a little empty.

She finished the soup quickly not wanting to linger here for too long and get back to her two days worth of paperwork since she didn't get any done yesterday. She let out a long sigh as her headache had only decreased a little but the soup had helped with it quite a bit. Soi Fong rose and brought the bowl to a counter where the rest of the dirty dishes had been left before she took her leave.

She quickly exited the building giving a loathing look to the beat up soul reaper that was still being treated with some lack of effort. It pleased her to see him suffering but she wanted the one that had taken a kiss from her to suffer the most.

She left the area using her shunpo arriving at squad two's area and she never felt more like herself despite the hangover. She felt like she had regained what she had lost long ago. Then she realized that she did. Having Yoruichi with her like that this morning made her happy. For Soi Fong happiness was not a common thing at all and it always ended badly.

The last time she had been happy her happiness left her with a man that she despised more then anything. Even to this day her loathing for him had not decreased at all for he had taken away her happiness and her place in life. Though Soi Fong had found something else to live for her life had never been the same.

Even now she wasn't sure how well their bond would mend but she wanted to do her best. Soi Fong reached the training grounds and saw the Special Ops training and stopped to watch them. She knew it would be wise to test their skills soon but with the lack of her own skills it may be best to give it a little more time. Her skills have been sharper today but then she was overly aware of everything as if she were paranoid.

She couldn't figure out why her skills were sharper now but it may be only temporary. She would only know in time but that time was not now. Regardless of if Yoruichi wanted to try and fix things tonight Soi Fong needed to train.

She continued her walk to her office and found her normal pace didn't hurt so much. Perhaps the soup helped more then she credited it had. Her trip was made quickly and soon she was entering the office. She felt a strange boost of confidence in herself but as Oomeada immediately began to question her she felt as though the soup had done nothing for her patience or her anger towards his vast incompetence.

Soi Fong did her best to ignore him and not give him any mind as she sat down but his blabbering only persisted. She scoffed at his ignorance, "Oomeada, if you have anything important to say then say it. If it's not important do not speak to me."

She shot him a dark look as he went silent. He went right back to his paperwork to avoid her eyes. Soi Fong watched him angrily for a moment before deciding he wasn't worth it and went to her own work. It all held the same appeal as it had yesterday but she was a little more reluctant to do it today. She just wanted to go to her own training. Perhaps she would do it earlier and possibly give herself more time with Yoruichi before she retired to bed.

With that thought on her mind her paperwork was done with a bit of ease and she went back to the training grounds to observe what was left of the training that was taking place. She caught her gaze occasionally centered on the wall where the cat had been only the day before. She recalled the hatred it had brought to her now she missed the sight of the feline. But she missed its true form even more.

This sudden change of heart couldn't be right though. With all the pain she had felt when Yoruichi had abandoned her and the pain she had felt for the long years after that. There was no way one simple act of rescuing could change Soi Fong's mind so easily. She was grateful but not enough to completely forgive the woman of her actions. All she could do was agree to work around the pain and try to form a new bond.

Any bond made however, would surely just be broken again. It was something that had been proven to Soi Fong and had also been a lesson in attachment that she will never forget. It taught her that any attachment no matter the size would only hurt her. There had been no attachment to anything other then her work and that was the only thing that kept her mind from the pain that Yoruichi had caused her so long ago.

Soi Fong didn't know what to do now. She knew she had to try. She owed Yoruichi that much but how much could she really give the woman. Soi Fong didn't want to get hurt again and creating a bond would just get her hurt and then she would be the cause of her own pain. Nothing they did or try could ever make this new bond work. It just couldn't happen. It was already doomed to fall apart.

She turned and left the training grounds as the Special Ops finished their training. Soi Fong just wanted it to be night so she could get her own training done without being watched. But then, even her night time training has been watched lately. She had only become aware of it recently but she knew the viewer was aware of her growing weakness. The time span of training they had witnessed was unknown to her but she knew it was long enough. Soi Fong must improve her skills and her strength if she doesn't she will be beaten once more.

Oomeada followed closely behind her but didn't speak much. He was likely afraid of what would happen to him if he spoke. He was right to be afraid, Soi Fong was still suffering from her headache though it had decreased greatly she was still in no mood for him. She was in no mood for any male right now and she was sure she never would be again.

She scoffed at what Matsumoto had told her last night about what men could do. She didn't care what they did as long as it didn't concern her and they stayed far away from her. But she knew Oomeada would always be right behind her no matter where she went. She would have to send him off to do something but she didn't trust him to do anything on his own. It may be difficult to get away from him and if she left again it would raise more questions with him and more people would hear of her behavior.

Soi Fong didn't want questions raised about her recent actions she had to be as normal as possible. She could never relax unlike all the others who constantly slacked off. It was curious to her how they have remained Captains for so long. The only two she could come to respect were Captain-Commander Yamamoto and Captain Unohana. They were both devout to their duties and showed the right amount of passion when it deemed necessary to do so.

Her thoughts returned back to Yoruichi as she reentered her office. These thoughts still tormented her. She didn't know if she could really forgive Yoruichi for her actions. All she could forgive was their first kiss which had been forced onto her. Soi Fong had forgiven that when Yoruichi helped her last night but that was all she could let herself forgive.

She sat at her desk and waited for night to fall so she could clear her mind and continue her training. Maybe she would also discover who was watching her as she trained. She recalled her training at the execution grounds and how she was being watched there and how they hadn't made a move even as she stood their waiting all day. They were waiting for a slip up. This would not end well if she were still weak when they attacked.

The day went by slowly as she sat their waiting and Oomeada had begun talking excessively once more. Soi Fong hadn't minded so much since her headache had left her and she could ignore him like she usually did. His words and questions were nothing to her as she watched the window and waited for the sky to darken.

Finally, it was night and Soi Fong felt she could move more freely now. The darkness comforted her as others slept during it. Soi Fong made her way out of her office and back to the training grounds where she hesitated for a moment as she recalled Yoruichi was a regular at the bar she was at last night. She consider for a moment on going to see if she was there but cast the thought aside knowing who else would be there.

Soi Fong went deep into the training grounds to where she regularly trained. She would start early tonight and she would end late. Yoruichi didn't concern her at the moment all that mattered was her training and her strength. She needed to get stronger. If she didn't she would be cast aside like her existence meant nothing once more.

She swiftly unsheathed her sword and focused on a tree that she would use as her target. She picked up her stance and used shunpo to attack it in an instant. Soi Fong attacked the same tree relentlessly until she was out of breath before she went to the tree to inspect the damage she had inflicted on it. Her eyes narrowed as she saw that she was not even close to knocking it down.

Her anger flared inside of her as she looked at the deepest cut she had made. It wasn't even deep enough for her blade to be hidden in it. Normally it would take only two hits to bring down a tree of this size. Soi Fong hated being this weak. All her anger surfaced as she lashed out at the tree getting her Zanpakutou stuck on more then one occasion.

As she calmed down she started to sense a set of eyes on her once more. She turned and searched the area for any form of life but once more found nothing there. Was this just paranoia or was there something there that she couldn't see? But that couldn't be possible. There had to be something here other then her. She grits her teeth in her anger and called out, "Come out here!"

There was no response as she walked to the center of the clearing. There was not even any movement as she picked up her guard. She heard leaves rustling not far away as a branch fell to the ground. The instant it hit the ground she had been attacked.

Soi Fong went flying back and barely caught herself as she picked up her guard so she wouldn't be left vulnerable. She held her stance in an instant and searched for her attacker. Once more there was no sign of life being present around her. The attacker was here though, Soi Fong was sure of it and from the single attack they were either unarmed or preferred hand-to-hand to start. There was another noise to her left and she turned to face it.

Her instincts told her to turn around, that the danger was behind her. Before she even had time her attacker pushed her to the ground and was gone once more. Soi Fong's anger picked up once more as she realized her attacker was making a fool out of her. She got to her feet and released her Zanpakutou and waited this time she would be ready.

She'll lure them out before she strikes this fool that dares to attack her. There will be no mercy on this fool no matter who it is. But they seemed to be taking her more seriously as they have yet to attack her again. Perhaps they ran off. No, there is no way they would bait her like this and then just take off unless that was their plan in the first place.

Soi Fong knew that they were still here. She could still feel eyes on her. Her attacker was behind her and she knew that but she won't face them until the time was right. They would attack soon and she would be ready for it. It was but a moment before they moved once more.

Soi Fong waited until the attacker was right behind her before she turned and swung at them. Her attack was stopped and she caught a small glimpse of her attacker before they swiped her legs from the ground with their own. When she hit the ground her attacker had taken off again once again.


	4. Old Wounds

**Disclaimer:** I do not own bleach

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><p><strong>4 – Old Wounds<strong>

She lied on the ground as the scars of her abandonment reopened. The one attacking her now was none other then Yoruichi. The woman had even dared to smile at her before tripping her. Tears welled in her eyes as the inevitable was happening to her just as she knew it would.

Soi Fong slowly picked herself up and readied her stance though she didn't even want to be here anymore. She didn't even want to be alive with this second betrayal. Yoruichi came at her once more but Soi Fong did nothing to stop it. She couldn't stand the pain of abandonment anymore. She had enough of it. Any more pain caused by this woman was greatly unwelcome to her.

Yoruichi was right behind her and was already attacking but Soi Fong didn't care anymore. She felt a light tap on her cheek before Yoruichi pulled her into a hug. "Do you know why you lost to me before, Little Bee? Do you know why I'm doing this right now?"

Soi Fong didn't answer and she didn't want to hear Yoruichi call her weak either. Yoruichi let out a sigh and said, "You are very strong but you lack defense. That is why you lost to me. I'm doing this now to help you not to hurt you. I don't ever want to see you cry like that again."

Soi Fong nodded slowly as she wiped the tears from her eyes as a blush formed on her face. She took Yoruichi's arms in her own and they remained like this for a moment as Soi Fong's wounds began to scab over once more. Though the pain remained, it was no longer as sharp. It had dulled as much as her skills had.

"I have been watching your training and I noticed that you are very distracted. It's dulling you senses. That's why you never sensed me until yesterday." Yoruichi admitted. "But then, I had slipped up when you suddenly appeared. I thought you were coming to yell at me some more."

"So it was me that you always came to see in the middle of the night." Soi Fong said.

"Of course, who else would I want to see every night?" Yoruichi said. "I would have announced my presence but I didn't know how you would react. I knew you wouldn't want a sparring partner that's why I attacked you tonight. I thought if you didn't know it was me you might be more willing to fight back but you were even more distracted tonight."

"I wouldn't agree to spar with you." Soi Fong said. "I still can't forgive you."

"I understand. I still can't forgive myself for what I did either." Yoruichi agreed. "But I want to move past it with you. I want us to be together. That's what I've always wanted."

"Don't joke with me. You could never be tied down to anything." Soi Fong said bitterly. "Not even your rank or formalities."

"That's because rank and formalities kept the two of us apart." Yoruichi said kindly. "I hated not being able to hold you like this."

"I still don't want you to hold me like this." Soi Fong said bitterly despite her joy from what she just heard. "I can't accept any of this."

"Do you not want this?" Yoruichi's pain radiated deep in her voice as she spoke making it impossible for Soi Fong to answer and disappoint her even more. Instead Soi Fong simply lowered her head in shame of hurting the older woman. "I see, then can I at least hold you like this for a while?"

Soi Fong shook her head as her hands dropped from Yoruichi's arms. The older woman backed away. The two of them were both in equal amounts of pain as Soi Fong turned to face Yoruichi. She saw Yoruichi smiling at her even through her hurt expression. How could she possibly be smiling right now?

"I guess I should thank you far sparing me this time." Yoruichi said as she raised her arm to reveal the mark that had been left by Soi Fong's Zanpakutou. The girl took a step back in shock. Was she really that distracted that she hadn't even realize she had injured Yoruichi?

Soi Fong looked away as Yoruichi dropped her arm as she turned to leave. Even with all the pain they were both in Soi Fong didn't want Yoruichi to leave her. Nor did she want to grab her arm in fear of hurting her once more. All she could do was call out to the older woman, "Spar with me."

Yoruichi stopped and looked back at Soi Fong with slight shock. She turned so they were facing each other properly but did nothing more then that. Their eyes never left the others. Soi Fong picked up her guard. "Don't hold back, and I won't either."

"Are you sure about this?" Yoruichi asked. Soi Fong nodded immediately. "Alright, but no weapons at first, I want to see your hand-to-hand combat."

Soi Fong allowed her Zanpakutou to revert to its sealed form before she sheathed it and picked up her stance again. Yoruichi lunged at her and attacked but she was holding back on Soi Fong allowing her to block it with minor difficulty. The attacks were slow at first but gradually picked up in speed and strength but by then Soi Fong had become quite adept at reading Yoruichi's moves and also quiet good at blocking them as well.

After a while they separated and put distance between themselves as they each held anger in their eyes as this sparing match became more then just practice. This had become redemption for Soi Fong and Yoruichi was giving her what she needed. With this Soi Fong would no longer be distracted or shamed. She would have her pride and her wounds would finally heal.

Yoruichi needed this as well. She needed to lose and take the pain she had inflicted on Soi Fong but her pride wouldn't allow to her just give up. The woman had to go down giving it her all or she would be the one that was shamed. As much as she wanted Soi Fong to be comfortable with her there was no way she could willingly lose.

Yoruichi had purposely increased Soi Fong's guard before she got serious to give her a better chance. The two went back at it more ferociously no longer pulling their attacks and using all their strength and speed. This was far from just training. If Soi Fong drew her Zanpakutou this would become a fight to the death. Yoruichi had to keep her from doing that but with the way things were going it would happen soon.

They separated once more and Soi Fong reached for her Zanpakutou. Before she could even begin to draw her blade Yoruichi was behind her. She took Soi Fong by the arm and forced it up making her cry out in pain. The Zanpakutou was removed from the smaller girl's sash and cast aside before Yoruichi pushed Soi Fong away.

Soi Fong caught her balance a few feet away before she turned and ran at Yoruichi once more. There was no way she could lose to this woman. This woman that she despised so much yet couldn't find her reasoning for it. Soi Fong simply hated this woman beyond reasoning. There was nothing she wanted more then to beat her.

A part of her had even wanted to end her life but that deep hatred had gone when she had been disarmed. Now Soi Fong simply wanted to beat her and nothing more. It was as if everything she was, her entire existence, would be determined with this one fight. She couldn't even begin to understand the voice that told her this but she believed it and she would not disappoint it.

The two broke apart panting with their exhaustion but they couldn't stop and they were far from being done. They allowed the lightest of breathers before they continued. Neither of them spoke and neither of them was aware of what was around them any longer. All they were aware of was the person in front of them and what needed to be done.

They couldn't last much longer though, they were both beyond drained as they pushed themselves further past their limits then they should. They both knew it would be over soon and neither of them had lost sight of what they wanted. Both of them knew the fight would be over in the next attack.

The voice that told Soi Fong to kill the other woman came back to her and it was even louder then it had been before. But a part of her also told her to spare her life and let her live. She didn't know what to do but went at the woman again to attack her. The woman just stood their and waited for it.

Soi Fong had made her decision. She would kill her with a punch to the neck crushing her jugular and causing her to suffocate and with her shortage of breath it would kill her. At the last minute the other woman tried to kick Soi Fong but her attack was blocked. It put the woman off guard giving Soi Fong the perfect opportunity.

She went of her neck but the woman stopped it. They each gripped the other refusing to let go as if their attacks could still connect. They stared deep into each others eyes as their anger grew at this draw until the woman grunted in pain as Soi Fong swiftly kicked her in the ribs. That was it. Their fight had ended and Soi Fong had proved to be victorious.

They released each other as Yoruichi fell to the ground panting in pain and choking on blood. Sane thoughts began to run through Soi Fong's head once more as she realized what she had just done. Pride soared through her as she looked at her former mentor on the ground thriving in pain as she stood victorious over her. But then she felt guilty for taking it this far when in their first fight it wasn't taken anywhere close to their breaking point. They both could have died in this fight.

Soi Fong noticed a smile on Yoruichi's face as she began to choke a laugh before she coughed on her own blood. Soi Fong knelt down beside her unable and not wanting to stand anymore. Yoruichi took her hand and smiled up at her as she tried to speak, "H-how do you… feel?"

Soi Fong was shocked as she realized she held no more anger or hatred towards this woman. She couldn't understand how that could that have all been taken away so easily. There was no more pain anymore either. She felt emotionally lighter but her body had never felt heavier. Soi Fong offered Yoruichi a smile.

"Isane and Unohana should be here soon." Yoruichi said. "I informed them of this earlier."

"You planned all this?" Soi Fong asked.

"No," Yoruichi answered with a pained smile. "I wasn't sure if you would try to kill me or not."

"I did try." Soi Fong said as tears formed in her eyes. "I almost did. If you hadn't blocked my attack-"

Yoruichi silenced her with her fingers before her hand fell away from her exhaustion. She closed her eyes making Soi Fong frightened of what was going to happen next. Soi Fong tapped her cheek lightly to wake her up. "Lady Yoruichi, stay with me."

"That's not my title anymore." Yoruichi said softly. "I'm just resting don't worry."

"You will always be Lady Yoruichi to me." Soi Fong said as tears rolled down her cheeks.

"And you'll always be my Little Bee." Yoruichi replied. "Wipe your tears away, I'm fine."

Soi Fong nodded but didn't remove her hand from either Yoruichi's hand or her face. As much as she needed that victory she needed these tears to release any of the lingering pain. "Forgive me, for disobeying you."

Yoruichi opened her eyes as Soi Fong once more broke into tears in front her. She weakly placed her hand on Soi Fong's cheek and said, "I'll forgive you on one condition."

Soi Fong looked at her and saw a slight cocky smile on her face. She returned her smile and leaned down to kiss her. There lips lingered against each other but they did no more then that as they began to sense Captain Unohana and Vise-Captain Isane's approach.

They parted when they got too close and Soi Fong's hand was moved away from Yoruichi's face. They shared one last smile before they heard the two come through the bushes. Their smiles faded as their hands parted. Isane ran to them as Unohana gracefully walked over at a slow pace.

"Are you two alright?" Isane called though Soi Fong paid her no mind while Yoruichi offered a weak wave before her hand fell to the ground almost limply making Isane quicken her run. When she got to them Soi Fong stood up and walked away. "Captain Soi Fong?"

Soi Fong ignored the Vice-Captain as she got only a few feet away before collapsing from her own exhaustion. She was unconscious before she hit the ground. Her body was heavy from her exhaustion but her fall was long and slow as if the instant she started to fall her body became lighter then a feather.

She felt her body being lifted from the ground then there was nothing but a numb silence. No noise, no pain, no emotion, and only one attachment; Lady Yoruichi. She was the only person that Soi Fong was devoted to and the only person she would give her life for. It didn't matter if Yoruichi was under exile or not. Although her exile seemed to be revoked now since her aid in trying to stop Aizen's betrayal, but she should have left with the humans yet she stayed behind. It was strange and she would have to ask her of her reasons for staying.

Soi Fong awoke in her own bed and sat up quickly making something fall off her stomach. She glanced down and saw a black cat looking up at her with slight irritation. A deep blush formed on Soi Fong's face as the cat rose to its feet and rubbed against her arm as it purred joyously.

Soi Fong nervously placed her hand on the cat's head letting it rub its head along her palm. The cat moved away from her hand and climbed up her chest to use it as support as the cat stood and began to lick her chin and upper neck. The cat's tongue tickled Soi Fong's neck making her giggle.

The instant it came out she clamped a hand on her mouth and turned the deepest shade of red possible. The cat fell backwards in a hysteric laughing fit. Soi Fong looked at it with irritation as she picked it up by the scruff of the neck. She looked at it angrily as her blush worsened. "Are you done?"

Soi Fong's muffled anger made the cat laugh even more. Soi Fong moved her arm so it was outstretched over the floor and considered it for a moment before getting up and moving to the window. She held the cat out the window and repeated her question. The cat calmed considerably but still continued to laugh as it dangled by the scruff of its neck before it calmed enough to speak. "That was adorable."

"Can cats fly?" Soi Fong asked as she raised the cat a little higher. She removed her hand from her mouth to show the sly smile that she held despite her blush that was slowly starting to fade. "I'm a little curious to see if they can."

"They can't but if you drop me I'll tell everyone about your cute little giggle and that adorable little blush." The cat said in a male's voice as it was quickly pulled inside. "That's better."

Soi Fong carried the cat back to the bed where she sat down but she still held the cat at arms length. She didn't trust it anymore after the licking of her neck. Her glare hadn't faded either as she eyed the cat with an intensifying anger. "Can you let me go?"

The sly smile reformed on Soi Fong's face as she dropped the cat. It landed gracefully on its feet before jumping up on Soi Fong's lap and laying down on its back playfully. Soi Fong could not believe what she was seeing. The high noble; Lady Yoruichi was not only disguised as a cat and lying on her lap but looking up at her playfully while purring as well. This could not possibly be happening.

"Was I seriously injured before?" Soi Fong asked. "Because there is no way this can be happening."

"Does it ruin your image of me?" The cat asked.

"If this isn't a dream then it's completely ruined." Soi Fong said.

"Would it help if I went back to my human form then?" The cat asked with a sly tone that Soi Fong didn't notice in her embarrassment as she nodded. "Suit yourself."

The cat transformed in an instant revealing a very beautiful and very nude Yoruichi. Soi Fong's full blush returned as she looked away from her once forgotten goddess. She had completely forgotten how beautiful this woman on her lap was and now that there were no boundaries between them it was a lot more difficult to avoid looking at her. Especially as Yoruichi pawed at her jawbone with a soft chuckle that completely contradicted everything about the male cat that she could disguise herself as.

"Come on, Little Bee giggle for me again." Yoruichi seemed to purr even in her human form. "You can be so cute sometimes. But then you have always been cute in my eyes."

Soi Fong blushed ferociously as Yoruichi continued to paw at her jaw. She wanted to stop her but she was frozen in her embarrassment and out of fear of her hand touching something it shouldn't. She didn't even want to speak in fear of what would come out of her mouth. The only thoughts going through her mind was how beautiful this woman was and how she had lusted for her in the past as all those urges seemed to come back to her now as Yoruichi was left so vulnerable.

"C-can you p-put something on at least?" Soi Fong stuttered as she moved her eyesight even further from the woman.

"Am I making you nervous?" Yoruichi teased before talking more seductively. "Or am I turning you on? We could do something about that."

Soi Fong felt her entire body go stiff at what Yoruichi had just implied. "W-what are you talking about?"

"Well…" Yoruichi said as she traced a finger along Soi Fong's jaw making her swallow quite audibly causing a sly smile form on Yoruichi's lips before she turned back into a cat. The cat stretched out on Soi Fong's lap and yawned. "Is this better then?"

"Thank you." Soi Fong said still unable to relieve herself of her embarrassment. "I would appreciate it if you didn't tell anyone of this."

"Don't worry I plan on keeping your cute side all to myself." The cat said. "I won't let anyone look at you in anyway other then the way they look at you now."

"You'll let Oomeada look at me the same way he always does?" Soi Fong asked skeptically.

"He is your Vise-Captain right?" Soi Fong nodded. "What is wrong with him? He's nothing like his father."

A sly smile formed on Soi Fong's face as she said, "Maybe I have a soft spot for dumb animals."

The cat hissed at her and got off her lap then headed straight for the window. It jumped up onto the frame as she rushed over to stop it. The cat sat of the frame and transformed again almost blinding Soi Fong with her true magnificence. The sunset behind her made her skin glow in it's radiance as Yoruichi sat on the frame leaning her back on the side. One of her legs was left dangling out the window while the other rested on the frame to cover her.

Yoruichi looked over at the blushing girl once more and said, "Your reactions are always so amusing and cute."

"Do you have to do this? It's bad enough I-" Soi Fong cut herself off in time to stop herself from telling this beautiful woman how much she wanted her.

"It's bad enough you what?" Yoruichi said getting off the windowsill and approached her seductively. "What is it, Little Bee?"

Soi Fong closed her eyes not wanting to be further tempted by this woman. She felt something brush against her leg. She opened her eyes and found the cat rubbing against them. Soi Fong let out a very aggravated sigh and said, "Can we have a serious conversation please?"

"If that is what you want." The cat replied as it went back to Soi Fong's bed. "What do you wish to discuss?"

"We still have a lot of things to work out." Soi Fong said. "I'd also prefer it if you were a little more serious."

"Yes, you were always the serious type." The cat replied in a much more serious tone. "I figured you would want to get straight to business but I wanted you to relax some more. If you are concerned about your duties as a Captain they have been taken care of. I saw to it personally with no problems."

Soi Fong's eyes widened as she feared Yoruichi might decide to return to being a soul reaper and reclaiming her title. She feared what would happen to her if she were to be cast aside again. "The Special Ops are very dedicated to you. You should be very proud of them."

Soi Fong looked away from the cat that spoke to her. She didn't want to lose her place here and have to become the one in exile. Not after she just got her pride back. Not after she gained the courage to forgive this woman. For the first time since Yoruichi abandoned her she felt that things would be okay. To lose it all now would be horrible.

"Soi Fong, are you okay?" Yoruichi asked as she turned the smaller girl's face up to her own. "I'm here for you. Don't be afraid to talk to me, alright?"

Soi Fong looked deep into her eyes and saw the strain she was under. Was changing her form that tiring for her? If it was she shouldn't be doing it that often. Soi Fong saw that Yoruichi was even having trouble standing right now. "Lady Yoruichi, are you alright?"

"I'm just tired and don't call me that." Yoruichi said. "I just need to sit down and I'll be fine."

Yoruichi transformed into the cat once more and went back to the bed. The cat jumped up but didn't exactly make it up and was now struggling to claw its way up. Soi Fong smiled as she made her way over and picked up the cat. She sat down and gently placed the cat on her lap as it immediately lay down and got comfortable. "Thank you, Little Bee."

Soi Fong smiled as she pet the cat and it began to purr happily. The cats purr got louder as she scratched behind its ear. Their talk would have to wait for now as it was clear to Soi Fong that Yoruichi hadn't been getting much rest lately. It seemed that it took less energy for her to be in cat form then human and it was hard for her to maintain in her human form for too long. Yoruichi must have been taking really good care of her and she had even taken over all of her duties as well. It filled Soi Fong with unexplainable and unfamiliar warmth that she couldn't recognize.

Soi Fong let the cat rest on her lap for a long time as she tried to figure out what the warmth was but even after the sun had long since set she still had no idea what it was. The cat had yet to wake either so Soi Fong moved it closer to the pillow before she lay down with it. She rested her hand on its shoulder causing another wave of warmth throughout her body. She snuggled up to it and quickly fell asleep unaware the cat had awoken when it was moved.


	5. A New Day

**Disclaimer: **I do not own bleach

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><p><strong>5 - A New Day<strong>

It had been almost a month since the two of them fought and Soi Fong agreed to work things out. They made a lot of progress but Soi Fong still feared Yoruichi would eventually decide to become a soul reaper again. If she did she would most likely be taking Soi Fong's place. Though she had shown no interest in Soi Fong's position it wasn't enough to let the Captain be at ease.

Yoruichi had taken a liking to clinging to Soi Fong's shoulder in her cat form during the day since not many knew about that ability and they thought Soi Fong had simply got a pet cat for reasons that were far beyond them. Another thing they hadn't begun to understand was what made her lighten up. It wasn't much for the other squads to really notice but her Vice-Captain and the Special Ops unit had noticed the change in her. Though they didn't know it was due to Yoruichi's close presence with Soi Fong. It was a well kept secret between them.

Soi Fong had regained her strength and not only improved dramatically but since she had a sparring partner her defense had greatly improved since their second fight. Though she was still distracted as she had yet to discover what the warmth she felt so persistently was. It bothered her but because of her mistrust in Yoruichi she couldn't ask the older woman about it and she couldn't go to anyone else about it either.

Soi Fong awoke with a naked body pressed against her back like she always did and her sleeping partner was playing with her hair as always, either moving it away from her face or just with one of the longer pieces she always kept bound. Though Yoruichi would always go to sleep in front of her as a cat since it was easier for her, she always seemed to wake up in her human form and she would always be behind Soi Fong.

"Morning, Little Bee." Yoruichi purred in her ear. "I'm sorry if I woke you up but you're just so cute I couldn't help it."

The same excuse every morning and it never failed to make the younger girl blush. She knew the woman couldn't keep her hands off of her even though they decided to clear up all their problems and uncertainties before doing anything more then holding and kissing. Soi Fong knew Yoruichi was just waiting on her now but she couldn't shake her mistrust of the woman. Despite all the older woman had done for her in the past month there was still very little trust. Which may be one of the reasons why Yoruichi is always with her except for in Captain meetings since a few Captains knew of her cat form and she couldn't risk them finding out about their growing relationship, though it had been at a stand still for weeks now. Yoruichi didn't want Soi Fong to have any reason to doubt her. Even before they started to make amends Yoruichi was almost always with her but kept up appearances to seem unattached.

Whenever Soi Fong had a meeting Yoruichi would roam squat two's quarters to pass the time and occasionally she would attack Oomeada since he had become very jealous of the cat that always had Soi Fong's attention and would on occasion try to kick it out of the area. No matter how hard he tried though, the cat was much too quick for him and his attempts always ended with a new scratch on his face to prove his wasted effort.

A buzzing noise brought Soi Fong's attention back to Yoruichi as she messed up her hair a little. "Your brain is buzzing again Little Bee. Is it anything important?"

"No, I was just reflecting." Soi Fong said. Though there may not be much trust in the older woman Soi Fong was always truthful with her though there were a few exceptions of her doubts and the constant warmth that persisted inside her. "I guess I'm a little distracted today."

"Well, it's a big day today." Yoruichi said with a smile.

"Yeah," Soi Fong replied a little downheartedly. While they were almost always together now Yoruichi had recently started going back to the bars at night because of her birthday, which happened to be today and there was going to be a big party thrown there for her tonight. She didn't mind that Yoruichi wanted to go and enjoy herself in fact she had encouraged the notion. But the presence of the alcohol that was going to be there is what worried her. "It's just-"

She avoided Yoruichi's eyes but was pulled into an embrace. "I'm not like those four, Soi. It took so much for you to forgive me in the first place I'm not going to throw your trust away like that. If I get too drunk I won't come back here until morning, alright?"

Soi Fong nodded. She had gotten used to the feeling of Yoruichi's naked body against hers but mainly when she was fully dressed. If they were bathing it was completely different. "Can you come back tonight?"

"Alright, I will." Yoruichi said seriously before returning to her usual playfully seductive teasing. She rubbed her face against Soi Fong's cheek, as she was so accustomed to being in her cat form that this had become a habit for her. "Shall we go before we get interrupted?"

Soi Fong nodded as she felt Yoruichi pull away from her and the bed shift before the cat jumped onto her shoulder. She had begun to wear thicker clothing so the cat's claws didn't puncture her skin or scratch her.

They left their room in silence and travelled to the main office quickly. When they got to the training grounds however the cat dropped from Soi Fong's shoulder and ran off. Soi Fong stopped and watched the cat as the warmth she felt turned into a bitter cold that she actually could recognize. It was the cold of being left behind.

Though it may be only a temporary leave it still left Soi Fong hurt. She didn't like to see Yoruichi leaving no matter what form it was it still brought back the memory of finding Yoruichi's throne empty and abandoned. Every time she was left alone by Yoruichi she felt the stab of betrayal and an anger that she was trying so hard to forget.

She continued on to the main office fuming and acting like she had before the two had started to reform their bond. It was still far from being anywhere close to reformed. Though Yoruichi had completely opened up to the girl she had no faith in the older woman. Perhaps because when she left it was with that man.

Her anger heightened as she burst into the office. Oomeada had already arrived and had been hard at work trying desperately to get his Captain's attention. Soi Fong still considered him a pig but his worth heightened a little as he seemed to talk less and work more now. Though his work was as sloppy as ever at least it was being done and at a slightly faster pace then before.

He stood to great her nervously as he showed a nice scratch mark from when he had tried to catch the cat the other day during a Captains meeting and Soi Fong had been away. She had almost slipped up when she first saw it. How she was amused by it and by how the cat had jumped right to her shoulder and hissed at him.

Soi Fong ignored his greeting as always and went to her desk putting Oomeada in a fowl mood once more as he went back to his work. Despite his mood it wouldn't be long before he tried to start a conversation with her. It would fail as it always would and his mood would spoil even more.

"So that party tonight," He started.

"If you want to go, then just go." Soi Fong cut him off before he could finish.

"Ha, I'm not going to that place." He said with a laugh as if it were not good enough for him.

"Then why do you speak of it?" Soi Fong said as her anger rose even more.

"I was wondering if you were going." He said. "You and Yoruichi were close before right? It might make her happy to see you there."

"I would never go to such a place." Soi Fong scoffed. "I don't even want to see that woman."

"I couldn't agree more." Oomeada said. "To be a noble and to act so disgraceful put's shame on every other noble."

"You don't know what you speak of." Soi Fong said quietly as her anger and pain mixed in her stomach. It hurt her to speak of Lady Yoruichi in such a way. Luckily Oomeada was too daft to notice what she was feeling right now. "Get back to work."

Oomeada obliged as Soi Fong stood and walked to the window to get some fresh air. She had felt something out there as well. Only a small presence and nothing more, it was probably just the cat. If it was the cat then it must have overheard their conversation. Soi Fong wasn't so concerned since Yoruichi was better at picking up on emotions then Oomeada was.

Soi Fong rested her hands on the windowsill and leaned out. She spotted the cat almost immediately and reached out to pick it up but the cat simply batted her hand away. Soi Fong pulled her hand away realizing that the cat hadn't picked up on her pain as she spoke those words.

The cat walked along the roof below the window and brushed its side against the wall and began to purr. It looked up at Soi Fong playfully and stretched itself on the wall as Soi Fong chanced a small smile down at the cat before reaching down to scratch it's ear. It's purring became louder making a light blush form on Soi Fong's face.

The cat began to bat at her hand once more but this time Soi Fong saw the playful look in its eye and her smile widened as she raised her hand out of the cat's reach. It scowled at her a little before giving a dark angered look behind her. Oomeada had walked over to the window as well and was looking down at the cat, which hissed at him.

"What is with that cat?" He asked angrily. "Thing hates me for no reason."

The cat hissed in response for Soi Fong making her small smile widen slightly. Protective even as a cat but after that night it had been even more obvious. "Maybe if you didn't try to kick it all the time you would be more liked."

Oomeada scoffed in disgust as he turned away from it. "I don't know why you even bother with it."

"It's quieter then you." Soi Fong said with a sly smile. Even the cat smiled up at her, which was a little disturbing to see since cats don't normally smile. She could tell what she had just said upset him and she didn't care.

"What the hell is so special about a damned cat, anyways?" He shouted as the cat jumped onto the windowsill and glared in at him. "All these years you care about no one but yourself and this cat shows up and you're completely different. Ever since Yoruichi took over for you for those few days you have seemed off. It's like you're not even yourself anymore."

"I assure you I am still the same person as I was before." Soi Fong said coldly as she looked out the window. She looked far into the forest area at where she preferred to train her skills. "Nothing has changed since then."

"Well I have." He said as he turned her around. "I'm sick of doing all this when you won't even look at me. What do I have to do for you to notice me?"

The cat leapt at him, using Soi Fong's shoulder as extra footing and clung to his face as it scratched him. It hissed at him as he pulled it off making Soi Fong reach for her Zanpakutou. Soi Fong's blade met his neck as he was about to whip the cat out the window. "Don't even try it."

The cat hissed at him and continued to swipe its paws at him even though he was out of reach. Oomeada looked at Soi Fong angrily with a face full of scratches before he dropped the cat and left the office. The cat rubbed against her leg and purred as she stared angrily at the door as Oomeada's presence went further away.

When his presence was far enough she sheathed her weapon and went back to her desk in silence as the cat followed loyally without word. Soi Fong sat in her chair as Yoruichi transformed back to her human form and seductively leaned back on the desk. Soi Fong did her best to keep her concentration on the paperwork that still needed to be done but Yoruichi turned her attention away from it and to herself with her finger. The blush on Soi Fong's face increased as the catlike woman smiled down at her.

"Are you alright, Little Bee?" Yoruichi said.

"I'm fine." Soi Fong said nervously. She may be used to seeing Yoruichi like this but it would always have the same affect on her. "I'm a little surprised that you didn't attack him in this form though."

"If I did he would see your cute side." Yoruichi purred. "That's only for me, right?"

Soi Fong nodded nervously as she did her best to keep eye contact with this beautiful yet naked woman that loved to tease her every chance she got. She couldn't look away from the woman but it was near impossible to keep her eyes on her face when she was in this attire. "I assume this is why you always cling to me?"

"I'm just making up for lost time." She said as a sly smile formed on her face as she let her finger trail down Soi Fong's neck making her squirm with her embarrassment. "Are you anxious for something, Little Bee?"

"Lady Yoruichi." Soi Fong was barely able to find her voice as her embarrassment reached a new height.

Yoruichi leaned closer so she was right by her ear making Soi Fong tense up as she whispered, "I though you only called me that in bed."

Soi Fong stood up and backed away not wanting to be anywhere close this tease of a woman. They had both agreed not to take things further until they were both ready but now it seemed that Yoruichi had different plans. Yoruichi backed the younger girl to the wall and pinned her against it as she let her fingers trail along her neck as she leaned down to her ear once more and said, "How can I get you to trust me, Little Bee?"

Yoruichi straightened up and looked at the younger girl intently. "I know I completely betrayed you before but didn't we agree to put that in the past? I want you to trust me like you once did. I'll never leave you again."

Soi Fong looked up at the woman with fear. She hadn't been aware that Yoruichi had known about her mistrust. She thought she had hidden it well. If Yoruichi was aware of this then what else did she know? Was she aware of how much Soi Fong lusted for her? Was that why Yoruichi was a constant tease to her?

Yoruichi watched Soi Fong and waited for her to answer or give any hint on what to do to gain the girls trust. She would do anything for this girl so it hurt to know that the girl didn't trust her although it was completely understandable that she didn't. Yoruichi cupped the girls face with her hands as she spoke softly, "I will never abandon you. If I have to leave I'll take you with me Soi Fong. You mean so much to me."

"Then why didn't you take me with you before?" Soi Fong asked as tears fell down her face only to be caught almost immediately. "Why did you leave me behind?"

"Soi, I wanted to bring you but I was afraid that I wouldn't be strong enough to protect you. Leaving you behind was the only way I could keep you safe. As much as it hurt both of us it had to be done." Yoruichi said gently. "But if I knew how things would have happened between us I never would have left you behind."

As much as Soi Fong hated to show weakness she couldn't help but break into tears as Yoruichi pulled her into a hug. Yoruichi made a shushing sound as she stroked Soi Fong's hair. The notion was calming for the Captain but her tears wouldn't fade away just yet.

Yoruichi held the crying girl silently until her tears faded away before she pulled away to wipe away the last of the tears. They stared into the others eyes as Soi Fong felt the warmth fill her and even make her blush a deep red. Yoruichi smiled and with that one notion took away all of Soi Fong's pain before she leaned down so they could kiss each other.

It was the longest kiss they had shared and it was the most passionate one either of them had ever known before. While Soi Fong had no partner before, Yoruichi has had few when she had tried to ease the pain of their separation but none of them has had such an effect on her as this girl in her arms. The one she had so foolishly left behind before. "I'll never let you go again Soi Fong."

They smiled at each other warmly before they both sensed Oomeada's approach. He would be here soon. Yoruichi cleaned up Soi Fong's face quickly before transforming into a cat once more. Soi Fong returned to her seat and pulled the chair closer to the desk as Oomeada came back in. His entrance was ignored by Soi Fong but the cat, which had jumped onto the table, hissed at him for ruining their moment together though he would not know that.

Oomeada shot the cat a dirty look before returning to his desk while the cat lay down and rested its eyes though Soi Fong knew it would remain awake now. She could sense the anger in the two of them as they ignored each other. It was a little amusing to know Oomeada was jealous of a cat, though it was much more then just a cat, not many knew that.

They finished their paperwork in silence. Soi Fong stroked the cat erecting a joyful purr as the cat knew she was done now while Oomeada just walked out of the office without word but gave one final dark look at the cat. The cat's purr increased as the door was slammed shut.

The cat yawned and rolled onto its back and batted at Soi Fong's hand once more making her smile with another light blush. "You enjoy this don't you?"

"If it makes you look that cute, then yes." The cat purred as it continued to paw at her hand while watching the increasing blush on Soi Fong's face. "You are so cute when you blush that I just can't get enough."

Soi Fong moved her hand away from the cat while averting her eyes. She wasn't fond of being called cute or of her excessive blushing that took place when Yoruichi was acting like a cat rather then the dignified person that she was. She recalled what Oomeada had said about how Yoruichi's actions shamed other nobles. If they knew of how she acted while like this they would probably do more then just disgrace her name.

Even though Soi Fong was a noble as well she didn't find what Yoruichi was doing was in any way disgraceful. She simply acted the way she always had. Yoruichi had always been playful and never bothered with her duties. Now she was a lot more playful but at the same time she was a lot more dedicated to her duties even though her duties were self assigned. Meaning she was still doing what she wanted but it was for Soi Fong and not herself.

The cat rose to its feet and walked over to her and sat in front of her. Their eyes met and Soi Fong saw that they had lost their playfulness and were now serious. "Everything will be alright, Soi Fong. I won't let anything bad happen."

Soi Fong offered a slight nod though she knew they weren't on the same page. She knew what the cat was getting at. While she was worried about how things will work out for her the cat was concerned only of Soi Fong's well being and her level of trust.

Soi Fong continued to pet the cat though it didn't react like it normally did. Instead of purring and being overjoyed the cat just looked deep into Soi Fong's eyes. Soi Fong knew what was coming next and she didn't want to hear it. "Tell me what I need to do to gain your trust once more. Anything you ask of me I will do."

"Anything," Soi Fong repeated skeptically as the cat nodded. "Prove it."

"Give me a command. It can be simple of difficult. It matters not." The cat said with a dead serious tone of voice that was unusual for the playful Yoruichi. "If you want me to do it then I shall do it."

Soi Fong remained silent for a moment as she considered what she should make Yoruichi do. It would have to be respectable. She would not allow Yoruichi to disgrace herself at all. She already knew that Yoruichi would protect her no matter what form she took. That had already been proven. But how far would she take her commands?

Soi Fong rose from her desk and walked around it to the center if the room. She turned and found the cat hadn't moved an inch. She smiled at the cat's dedication to this. "Come here."

The cat turned and jumped off the desk and walked to where Soi Fong was indicating with her hand. The cat stopped without word and waited for the next command. "Transform yourself."

It was done in an instant and Yoruichi stood naked in front of her. There was no sense of playfulness even in her human eyes. They had become cold and serious as they were when they had fought each other. Soi Fong unsheathed her Zanpakutou and offered it to Yoruichi but she didn't move. "Take it."

Yoruichi took it and waited for further instruction. "Cut."

She raised the blade above her wrist and awaited confirmation. "Me."

Yoruichi's eyes widened as she looked at the smaller girl with shock. She didn't question her but she didn't move either. Soi Fong took her Zanpakutou by the blade and forced it to her own neck and repeated her order. Yoruichi's eyes narrowed to their normal width but she didn't oblige. "Do it."

Yoruichi swiftly removed the blade from the smaller girl's neck and pressed it against her own as her determination returned in full. Now it was Soi Fong who was shocked. She hadn't really expected Yoruichi to cut her but she never expected her to turn the blade on herself.

She applied a little pressure allowing blood to stream down her neck. "Stop."

Yoruichi held the blade against her neck and didn't move. Soi Fong's eyes widened with her fear at how far Yoruichi was taking this. "Drop it."

Yoruichi discarded the sword to the side and stood their waiting for further commands. Soi Fong took a step back. This was too much for her. To have complete control wasn't what she wanted from Yoruichi. "Stop this."

Yoruichi remained standing there not moving and not changing. Her eyes remained unchanging and didn't leave hers. Yoruichi raised her hand and wiped away tears that Soi Fong hadn't even noticed had rolled down her face. She smiled down at the younger girl.

"I'd sooner harm myself then I would you." Yoruichi said kindly. "I will never harm you."

She leaned down and kissed Soi Fong on the forehead before pulling her into an embrace. Soi Fong's face burned with a deep blush as her chest warmed. She wrapped her arms around Yoruichi's lower back as her face rested on her neck as her tears dried. They held each other until a Captain's meeting was announced and Soi Fong had to leave.


	6. The Party

**Disclaimer: **I do not own bleach**  
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><p><strong>6 – The Party<strong>

When Soi Fong had returned she found no sign of Yoruichi or her cat form. She had returned to her room and found a note explaining her leave and a promise that she would return at a decent hour. All that was left for her to do was sit and wait for Yoruichi's return. It had been an hour since Yoruichi's birthday party had started and Soi Fong was lying on her bed with an on and off consideration of going.

She knew she could go but she hadn't been directly invited because of what had happened on her drunken night. Her invitation had been in the undertones of Yoruichi's talk of it and her actions in the past two days. Yoruichi would have loved to have her there with her but she knew Soi Fong would have been uncomfortable to be there so she hadn't been directly asked to go.

She glanced over at the window half expecting a black cat sitting on the windowsill and a set of gold eyes watching her with a part serious but mostly playful look. But the windowsill was empty only showing the setting sun. A smile made its way across her face as she recalled Yoruichi's slender nude body sitting there while she watched her with a playful smile as they talked.

Soi Fong's smile faded along with the image as she sat up. She looked back at the window but the image was gone. Yoruichi's absence upset her. At one time she would have loved to have an evening to herself but since the two got together it was unbearable to be alone.

Her thoughts went back to the party and her very undertone invitation to go. Her gaze drifted back to the windowsill and found it empty. She let out a sigh and left her room. She had to clear her mind of all her thoughts of Yoruichi. It was only one night apart and it wasn't even going to be a full night.

The halls were empty as she walked through them. She eventually came to a covered walkway and she stopped dead in her tracks as her memory recreated a younger version of herself standing at the end with her head bowed as a younger version of Yoruichi walked by her current self and met eyes with her curious younger self.

The current felt the warmth in her chest as she watched the beginning of their previous bond as Yoruichi asked for the formers name. The current recalled what she felt at that moment when Yoruichi scolded her for being so formal. She walked over but didn't dare get too close incase the image faded.

Her former self blushed making Soi Fong recall the warmth that had started growing in her chest as she began to fall in love with Yoruichi. The currents eyes widened as the former looked right at her. Their eyes met before the younger Yoruichi looked over at her as well and smiled. "Have you figured it out yet, Little Bee?"

The current nodded as the former took hold of Yoruichi's hand before the former said, "She's waiting for you. Hurry up."

The current nodded again and took a step back but no more then that. All this stunned her too much as she tried to make sense of it. Yoruichi released the formers hand and walked to the current and placed a hand on her shoulder. "I don't like to be kept waiting. You noticed earlier right?"

The current nodded and took more then a step back as this time she ran down the hallways. She had to get to the party before something bad happened. She had experienced what alcohol could do to someone and she didn't want something bad to happen to Yoruichi nor did she want her to do anything to anyone. With her beauty and teasing manner it was bound to happen. Soi Fong couldn't lose her again.

She was out of squad two's quarters in moments and was running down the streets as fast as her body could take her. Her mind was so focused on getting to Yoruichi she didn't comprehend that she had a faster way of traveling. All that went through her mind was getting to Lady Yoruichi and embracing her as much as she could. She didn't care about who saw them or what they thought of them. Being in love with her was nothing to be ashamed of. Soi Fong was determined to give her all for Lady Yoruichi like she should have done since the beginning. If it weren't for her fears things would be very different now.

She could no longer blame Yoruichi for abandoning her. Soi Fong had done it to herself. If she hadn't been so self-conscious in the time where the Shihouin name still ment something then she would have been stronger. She would have been brought along not left behind. All these years she had blamed Lady Yoruichi when it was always her own fears and weakness that made her too vulnerable to be brought along.

She turned a corner and slowed her pace a little as she was closing in on the bar. Even from down the street she could see how crowded it was. There were people even partying in the street and some where already collapsed on the wall in fits of laughter. Soi Fong slowed to a walk to keep her poise and so she would still be presentable next to Lady Yoruichi instead of sullying her image that was already so fragile.

She walked by a few soul reapers and they seemed to distance themselves from her a little while others didn't seem to bother and they continued their conversation. "Can't believe she won't even have a drink at her own birthday party, it's weird."

Soi Fong glanced over to see one of them shrug and say, "Says she's got a sweetheart waiting on her."

"Some 'sweetheart', fool ain' even showin' up to her party." Another one slurred. "Gonna lose her tonight."

"Not a drinker maybe." The one on the wall said. "Or a sweetheart set to take care of her after the party."

"Should be here now then. She's gettin' sum looks." The slurring one said as Soi Fong got closer to them. "Hell, I give it an hour 'for I take her home. Cheer her up a lil' you know what I'm sayin'?"

The others laughed as he did some minor vulgar actions. Soi Fong turned and walked toward the one that dared speak of Lady Yoruichi like she was some low soul from the Rukongai district. The soul reapers noticed her approach and stopped what they were doing as they tried to look presentable. Soi Fong delivered a quick and yet very powerful punch to the ill-mannered soul reaper before she continued to the entrance of the bar.

She entered quickly and found it to be packed with many soul reapers and many, if not all of the Special Ops members that served under Yoruichi long ago. When they noticed their leaders arrival they all stood and greeted her with respect, which made a lot of people stop what they were doing and look over at her. Her eyes scanned the bar as she searched for Yoruichi.

Soi Fong found her at the far side of the bar surrounded by a group of people. They were far enough for them to not notice her entrance. She made her way over to their exceptionally large circular booth as she watched one of the soul reapers touching Yoruichi's arm and spoke in her ear. Her anger rose as she wanted to kill him for dirtying Yoruichi's skin.

As she got closer Yoruichi noticed her approach and smiled over to her. She tried to get up but with the others around her she couldn't get out of the booth they were in. The ones at the table with her had yet to notice Soi Fong's arrival and raised their cups and called out for a toast making others around the bar do the same.

Yoruichi met Soi Fong's eyes as she was handed a cup of sake. Yoruichi looked to Soi Fong for approval before taking the cup and raised it. She raised the cup more to Soi Fong then to anything else as she spoke to the younger girl through her eyes. Her eyes spoke her love for the younger girl and how much she cared for her.

"I would like to thank all of you for coming here tonight, even though most of you are simply here to drink more then you should on a Sunday night." She paused to allow some laughter as Soi Fong took a cup from a nearby table and raised it as well. "However, I am glad to see friendly faces here whether they are familiar or not. I'm happy to finally be able to be here with all of you and to finally be with the one I love. So I do not toast to myself but rather to my sweetheart."

There was a cheer before they drank. They were unaware that Yoruichi's 'sweetheart' had arrived and heard their approval as they cheered. Her chest felt warm as Yoruichi smiled over at her. When she felt it this time she knew it was the love she held for the other woman. Soi Fong had finally figured it out and could finally allow things to progress with out worry because she knew Yoruichi felt the same way she did. She would never be left behind again.

She approached Yoruichi's booth while never dropping eye contact with her. The others had noticed her as well now and were watching her nervously since Soi Fong wasn't the type to be in a place like this. She stopped across for Yoruichi and said, "May I join you?"

Yoruichi's smile widened. "Of course, come and sit next to me."

There were a bit of grumbling as bodies shifted and left the booth so Soi Fong could take a seat next to Yoruichi. When she got in the others settled in and the booth became a little crowded with the extra person. Soi Fong looked around and recognized most of them of them but only knew some of there names. The ones she knew were Vice-Captain Iba of squad seven, Vice-Captain Hisagi of squad nine as well as Ikkaku and Yumichika from squad eleven. The other four she was unfamiliar with and didn't really want to know them either.

"So Yoruichi, when are you going to tell you when this 'sweetheart' is?" Hisagi asked

"Well," Yoruichi started. "It's a secret."

They all started complaining at once at Yoruichi's lack of an answer but Soi Fong was happy that it wasn't revealed just yet. She was not ashamed of their relationship but she liked having Yoruichi tag along with her everywhere without questions being asked by those who knew of her cat form. They would definitely put two and two together and figure it out. Though some of them may already be putting the pieces together and getting pretty close to figuring them out.

"Is this the same one you've been after these past months?" Yumichika asked with a bright smile. "Or did you move on already."

"Perhaps," Yoruichi said slyly. "I'll announce our relationship when we're good and ready until then you get nothing."

"Oh, come on. You haven't given us any details all this time." Iba complained. "At least tell us something."

"Alright fine," Yoruichi said. "I'm in love and I've never been happier in all the years I have lived."

Soi Fong felt a blush form on her face making her drink the rest of the sake in her cup as she thought; _so much for not drinking again._ But tonight was special and if she were going to be here and sit through this conversation she would need something to distract her enough so she doesn't do anything that would give them away.

"Have you gotten laid yet?" Ikkaku laughed as the others joined in. Soi Fong blushed furiously and regretted drinking the last of her sake already. "At least tell us that."

Yoruichi remained silent and the others began to back off. Soi Fong looked over at her and found how cold her eyes had become. Soi Fong felt a little nervous in this situation. She liked to see the playful look in her eyes not this deep anger and she would also prefer if the topic changed. But she too was a little curious as to how Yoruichi would handle things so she spoke up next, "Has it come to that point yet?"

Yoruichi looked at Soi Fong and eyes lost her angered look but they didn't go back to their usual playfulness. She held only seriousness in her eyes. "It will happen when we are ready. No more questions from anyone about this."

"Why not," The one that sat beside Soi Fong asked with a bit of a laugh. "Are you becoming embarrassed with this topic?"

"I simply do not wish to discuss it and if you keep bringing it up then the party will end early." Yoruichi said seriously. "I don't think you want to explain why to everyone here that's having such a good time."

They fell silent as more drinks arrived for all but Soi Fong since she was a new comer to the booth. Yoruichi slid a drink in front of her with a questioning look. Soi Fong took it with a smile though she didn't want to be drinking but she preferred that Yoruichi didn't drink and lose control of herself. She knew she could trust the older woman to take care of her. But what she didn't hold in consideration was how she would act when she had too much.

"So how long do you plan on keeping your 'sweetheart' waiting?" Matsumoto asked as she came over. "If you want to keep this one you should go get him and bring him here."

Yoruichi smiled in response as Soi Fong took a sip of her sake to occupy herself. Matsumoto looked at the woman with a little sternness as she continued. "If I were you though, I would just leave him. Honestly staying sober for someone isn't a good relationship and you clearly haven't gotten laid yet."

A few laughs erupted at the table as Soi Fong put her drink down as she quickly became ashamed at her actions. She could sense Yoruichi's anger rising as this topic continued unwelcomingly. "It doesn't matter if I've gotten laid or not. I don't care when it happens. We don't need intimacy to be happy besides we decided to take things slow so that's what we're doing. There are also plenty of reasons why I'm not drinking tonight. Not just because my sweetheart doesn't want me drunk."

"Why's that?" Matsumoto asked as she joined the table as well sitting on Ikkaku's lap much to his annoyance since there was no more room at the table.

"I won't drink tonight because I respect my partner enough to stay sober so we can enjoy the rest of the night together and the next morning in peace. While the rest of you won't even be able to crawl out of bed." Yoruichi argued. "I would much rather spend my mornings in each others arms and talk then trying to block everything out. So I don't care about drinking all I care about is our happiness. I don't give a damn about drinking to please you when I could just go home and spend time with my sweetheart."

Soi Fong felt her warmth return at Yoruichi's words and as the woman claimed her hand under the table as she said that she would rather spend her time with the younger girl. Despite the happiness she felt she drank the rest of her sake to try and lose the blush she had so no one would notice it. If even one of them noticed it then the others might figure it out as well.

She didn't want to take any chances now and with so many people around her it would be difficult to hide or get away without causing a scene. Soi Fong was trapped here and it was only a matter of time before the others noticed the blush that only seemed to increase as the conversation went on about their relationship. Yoruichi let out an aggravated sigh before saying, "Can we change the topic now? I don't want to be on this all night."

They all muttered other topics awkwardly trying desperately to get the topic away from Yoruichi's love life. No one had anything to really talk about as they were all interested in Yoruichi's secret relationship that was no longer that much of a secret. Matsumoto just shrugged and said, "I still say dump him."

Yoruichi's anger rose at Matsumoto's persistence. She didn't want to speak of her relationship especially with her partner right beside her. "I said drop it."

Matsumoto gave her a slightly angered look as if she were about to argue some more but Hisagi cut her off before she had a chance. "Captain Soi Fong, it's a little strange to see you here."

All eyes turned to her now as she sat there speechless. Her mind raced for anything that they would actually believe. But coming from her she couldn't get away with not having anything better to do or saying she was invited. "Well, I didn't have much choice."

They all looked at her strangely as Yoruichi started laughing. "I did a favor for her a while back so I told her she had to come."

Everyone turned their attention on Yoruichi. Even Soi Fong waited for the older woman to continue. Yoruichi looked down at her and released her hand to mess up her hair while she said, "But I didn't think you would actually some here. I guess I owe Shunsui a drink now since I lost our bet."

The way Yoruichi spoke made Soi Fong look away with a bitter scoff at her actions. Her coming here was just a bet between Yoruichi and Captain Shunsui. The others started laughing at her anger. She gave them all a dark look but found she was getting at least one sympathetic look. She looked away from Yoruichi angrily. "I'm leaving."

Soi Fong tried to get up but was pulled back down by Yoruichi as the others offered a few more laughs at her struggle. The older woman playfully wrapped an arm around the younger girls shoulder pulling her closer as she said cheerfully, "Oh come on. When was the last time we spent time together like this. Just stay for a little bit alright?"

She looked away from everyone else's eyes as Yoruichi whispered her apology in her ear before telling her to just go along with her excuse for Soi Fong's presence at the bar with them. Soi Fong freed herself of Yoruichi's grasp and gave her another dark look before looking away again with another scoff. "Just don't let it get to your head and I'll stay for a bit. Then I'm gone."

Yoruichi placed her hand on the angered captain's shoulder. She shot her an impatient look as she shook the woman's hand off her shoulder. Soi Fong glared at Matsumoto as she snickered at her. Any embarrassment she felt was replaced by her anger but she still felt warm because Yoruichi was right next to her.

The only blush Soi Fong held now was nothing more then a minor blush as her normal scowl had returned to her face. Another round of drinks came but once more it was one short since the crowd at the table increased every round. There was a bit of hesitation as the drinks were taken. Soi Fong didn't take a drink and neither did Yoruichi so an extra drink remained in the center of the table.

Every one with drinks drank at the same time giving Soi Fong and Yoruichi a small chance to meet each others eyes. Yoruichi offered a smile and messed up the girl's hair to prevent her from another blush and keep up her aggravation. They both wanted their relationship to remain a secret though it would most likely get out tonight.

Both looked away as the others finished their drinks. Matsumoto looked at the untouched drink before turning her gaze to Soi Fong. "You're not drinking anymore, Captain Soi Fong?"

"Ha, the way she drinks. I wouldn't be surprised if she could out drink you, Matsumoto." Ikkaku said. "She downs them. Show her Captain Soi Fong."

"I'd rather not." Soi Fong said regretting taking the second drink from Yoruichi.

Everyone at the table started rallying up to get her to do it. Even Yoruichi was watching her intently but under the table the woman squeezed her hand as if worried about her. Soi Fong sat there unaffected by there cheering and chanting. She just sat there until they started booing her and she became even more unaffected by there antics until she caught a smile from Yoruichi.

Soi Fong reached over and took the cup with a boost of confidence as the others started cheering her on once more. She glanced around the table as everyone became quiet and watched her intently. Soi Fong already knew this was a mistake. There was hesitation as she caught the scent of it once more.

"Time's up." Yoruichi said taking the cup from Soi Fong and downing it instantly before there could be any protest. The cup was slammed down on the table as if what Yoruichi just did was something to be proud of. "That is how it's done."

There was an eruption of cheers from even the tables around them that had witness that. Soi Fong was shaking a little at the recollection of thoughts as these people regarded drinking to be a good thing to do. She needed to leave this place and just go back to her room so she could sleep. "Looks like you're breaking your promise, Yoruichi."

"What promise?" Yoruichi asked.

"The promise you made of you going back to your man with a clear head tonight." Matsumoto said. "Now you're never going to get laid. On that note, let's drink all night."

"No, I should get going soon." Yoruichi said quickly. "What time is it?"

"It's still early and you won't miss anything if you stay." Matsumoto said. "Stay here and you could probably sleep with anyone here. Forget about the limp for one night and loosen up a little. You can't go through your birthday and not get laid."

Yoruichi released Soi Fong's hand and stood up as she smashed her hands on the table getting a lot of attention. "That's it. I'm leaving. I will not tolerate any of this. While you may have your opinions and your own ways of doing things I have mine and seeing as how it's my life I'll do as I please even if you don't approve of it. I'm in love and that's it. If that means I stop drinking then so what. Find someone else to drink with. If I don't get laid I don't give a flying fuck. Our relationship isn't based on any of that crap."

She glared down to the side of the booth that Soi Fong was on and everyone pooled out to allow her leave. Even Soi Fong had become nervous and all the drinking around them stopped when they heard her outburst. When Yoruichi was out of the booth she looked over at Soi Fong without losing any of her anger. "Soi Fong, there are things I wish to discuss with you. Will you accompany me for a bit?"

Soi Fong offered a slight nod before following the woman out as she bid her farewell and they left the bar. The two made a quick exit as a lot of eyes watched them. Although a group of the Special Ops members at a table stood up as it clicked in their head. Both Soi Fong and Yoruichi gave them a stern look and they sat down immediately after giving a respectful bow. Everyone else was still oblivious to their relationship and the Special Ops members knew to talk would be a mistake that would cost them their life.


	7. After Party

**Disclaimer: **I do not own bleach**  
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><p><strong>7 – After Party<strong>

They remained silent until they were a few streets away. When they turned a corner Yoruichi pinned Soi Fong against a wall and claimed her lips. The girl struggled at first but gave in to the woman's strength. There wasn't a heavy taste of alcohol in her mouth so Soi Fong knew Yoruichi was in control of her actions.

When they parted Yoruichi looked at Soi Fong kindly and they remained like that for a while before the woman finally spoke, "I'm sorry about all that. What I said was true though. If you don't want me to drink then I won't. Besides I prefer being able to wake up beside you and take in all of your beauty. That last drink I had was because I saw the hurt in your eye. It's not something you want to do. One drink won't affect me but one more would have affected you the way you downed them."

A deep blush formed on Soi Fong's face as she claimed the older woman's lips and they kissed passionately allowing their warmth to travel to the other as they fall even deeper in love with each other. It was the first kiss that the younger girl had started on her own without incentive from the other woman. The kiss was deep and the best so far making it all the more special for both of them.

When they parted they gazed at each other lovingly before claiming the others lips once more as Yoruichi pulled Soi Fong off the wall and into a very tight embrace. They didn't dare let go of each other until they needed air.

They broke the kiss panting for breath but their bodies didn't part. Soi Fong rested her head on Yoruichi's upper chest and she could hear the older woman's heartbeat. It beat loud and strong as her love for the younger girl got louder and stronger until she couldn't take it anymore. They pulled apart and kissed again entering each others mouth to fight for dominance.

They continued as long as they could completely oblivious to the world around them. They wouldn't know if anyone saw them until the next day and neither of them gave a damn. If someone had problems with their relationship then screw them. If they had to leave Soul Society then they would leave. They didn't care as long as they were together.

When they finally stopped they smiled at each other and headed down the street back to squad two's quarters where they would continue without a care in the world or anyone to criticize them. They walked as fast as they could as Soi Fong started to become a little light headed from her quick intake of alcohol but nothing more then that, though Yoruichi still carried the young Captain for the last quarter of their trip back to squad two's quarters.

From there Soi Fong walked on her own with a clear mind, even if it was going over the many possibilities of the nights events. She was still concerned about doing certain things with Yoruichi even though she trusted the woman completely. When they got to the training grounds Yoruichi took the younger girls hand and led her through it towards the woods.

Soi Fong watched Yoruichi with raising curiosity but didn't dare ask questions as she was led on. This was her night and she would allow the woman to do as she pleased without question or hesitation. She would have to allow anything to happen. Even if what Matsumoto said was upsetting her.

Soi Fong knew she hadn't been all that willing to do those sorts of things with Yoruichi and she still wasn't. The thought of doing these things always made her tense up and Yoruichi's constant tease never helped her either. But it wasn't because of her unease that stopped her it was the lack of trust she had in the woman. Now Soi Fong knows she can trust her because she understands what being in love is like, well in a matter of speaking. She didn't know why she was getting the warm feeling inside her but she liked it and never wanted to lose it.

Earlier she had experienced Yoruichi's own warmth and saw how much she wanted to hang onto it. There was no way either of them could just throw it all away for something else or for nothing at all. Yoruichi liked to drink and every one knows that but she was willing to give it up for Soi Fong. While Soi Fong wasn't fond of many things but she would give Yoruichi anything even if it meant her own life. She was completely dedicated to Lady Yoruichi.

They came to a stop at a clearing and Yoruichi smiled down at Soi Fong but she just looked at the older woman with confusion. She didn't understand why she was brought here. "You don't look too impressed."

"Why should I be?" Soi Fong asked looking out at the clearing. All that was there was a big pond with a log a few feet away from the water. "There's nothing here."

"You have a lot to learn about romantic mood settings." Yoruichi said as she placed a hand on the top of girls head. "It's supposed to put us in a mood, Little Bee."

"Oh," Soi Fong said quietly. "So it was bothering you too."

"What was bothering me?" Yoruichi said with a slight smile. "Are you talking about what Matsumoto said?"

Soi Fong nodded. "What did she mean by 'the limp'? I don't get that."

"She was saying you couldn't get it up." Yoruichi said but saw Soi Fong giving her an even more confused look. The older woman let out a sigh before she simplified even more, "It means no matter what I did you didn't want to sleep with me."

"We do sleep together." Soi Fong said not getting it at all.

"Okay, you never wanted to have sex with me." Yoruichi said as she watched the girls face turn a very deep red. "Now 'limp' would be a term used for when men can't have sex. For girls it would be considered 'dry'."

Soi Fong's face reddens even more but Yoruichi could still tell she didn't understand the two new terms either. The woman let out another sigh as she placed a hand on her forehead. "Alright, I won't explain limp because it's irrelevant. 'Dry' is when a girl can't get aroused. You are in that state now. To be wet is when you are aroused and you are literally wet."

"I don't recall ever being wet around you." Soi Fong said as her embarrassment clearly showed. "That's bad isn't it?"

"You have been wet around me plenty of times, don't worry." Yoruichi said with a smile. "It's hard to notice when you're distracted. Just think about it this way, all those times your lust for me has been really strong you were wet."

Soi Fong's sense of awkwardness increased dramatically as she recalled how often that was. Then she realized this topic was bringing those urges back to her. Yoruichi offered a sly smile at the young girl. "Try rubbing your legs together."

Soi Fong didn't move. She was afraid of what would happen if she did. Yoruichi offered a slight chuckle and walked over to the log. She took a seat and looked at the calm unmoving water. Soi Fong slowly walked over and felt there was a strange wet feeling between her legs. The little amount of her blush that she had lost when Yoruichi walked away returned before she got even close to the log.

She stopped walking as she noticed strange marks on the ground as if the soil had been disturbed. Soi Fong's embarrassment and arousal was forgotten in an instant as her guard picked up. She continued her approach to Yoruichi but her focus was all around her.

She stopped behind the log as Yoruichi tapped the log next to her ushering the younger girl to sit with her. Had she not noticed the marks on the ground or was she aware of it too and keeping it quiet? "There is nothing to worry about, Little Bee. Just come sit with me. I didn't drag this log her so I could be the only one sitting here."

"You made the marks on the ground then?" Soi Fong asked as she cautiously took a seat next to Yoruichi.

"Soi, I haven't been entirely honest with you these past few days but I wanted to keep it a secret." Yoruichi said as she took Soi Fong's hand. "Tonight was my first drink since we got together. These past few days I haven't been going to any bars. I was looking for a nice place to bring you so we could be alone and outside. I didn't find this place until this morning.

"Honestly, I wanted to bring you here before my exile so we could be alone but it never happened. I could never get the courage to ask you here. It took a few days to find it and when I did I wanted it to be perfect. During your meeting I left early to set all this up for when I returned." She said with a beautiful smile. "But I didn't have to wait as long as I thought I would. I never expected you to go to the party but I'm really happy that you did. I'm just sorry you had to listen to all that."

"All your disappearances lately have been for this?" Soi Fong asked shocked that Yoruichi would go through all this.

"Yeah," Yoruichi said as she met eyes with Soi Fong. "It seemed that it backfired on me though."

Soi Fong was shocked. No one had ever done anything like this for her. She released Yoruichi's hand and pulled her into a tight embrace as she fell even more in love with this woman. Yoruichi wrapped her arms around Soi Fong and gently said, "I'm glad you like it."

Soi Fong parted from Yoruichi and kissed her to the best of her abilities. They only parted to smile at each other before going at it again without taking in as much oxygen as they needed making this kiss difficult to maintain. It didn't last long before they broke apart panting as they tried to get as much air in their lungs as they could so they could continue.

When their lungs were filled they didn't resume as they had planned instead they just watched the other with loving smiles that refused to fade even as the night got cold. Eventually it got too cold so they cuddled up together. Yoruichi was sitting on the ground in front of Soi Fong while she held the older woman in her arms as they both looked up at the stars.

Soi Fong absent mindedly played with Yoruichi's ponytail as her thoughts lingered on the rest of the night before she found a sly smile on her face as she glanced down at Yoruichi. It was her turn to take charge. She was already in the position for it as well. She let her hand drift from Yoruichi's hair to her chin before raising her head and kissed the woman that would be at her mercy tonight.

They had only a quick kiss before Soi Fong pulled away with a sly smile. "It's getting pretty late. Shall we return to our room or do you want to stay here?"

"I don't care." Yoruichi said as she looked up at Soi Fong. "As long as I can hold you or you can hold me I'm happy."

"Shall we go to bed then?" Soi Fong asked not allowing her smile to fade.

"If that is what you want." Yoruichi replied.

Soi Fong tightened her embrace for a moment before letting Yoruichi go so they could both stand up. Yoruichi got up first and offered her hand to the smaller girl with a smile. Soi Fong took the hand and was pulled up with ease but their hands didn't part as they made their way back to their room in a comfortable silence.

When the two arrived it quickly became Yoruichi's turn to be pinned to a wall while Soi Fong initiated their kiss. Yoruichi welcomed it and all of the younger girl's antics as she was pulled off the wall and to the bed. Soi Fong turned so the woman's back was to the bed. She broke their kiss to force her down on the bed. Yoruichi smiled up at her as she spoke in a teasing voice, "Taking control are we?"

Soi Fong blushed with embarrassment making her hesitate before crawling on and reclaiming Yoruichi's lips and pushing her further down so they were lying. Soi Fong tried to be as seductive as she could as she allowed her hands to slide from the woman's shoulders to her chest where she froze.

Soi Fong had no idea what she was doing or what she was even supposed to do in this situation. Her heart raced as fast as her mind as she tried desperately to figure out what to do next. She broke from the kiss in a panic. There was an instant where she was terrified of what was happening then she saw a kind smile form on Yoruichi's face before the situation turned on her.

Yoruichi was on top now and looking at a very frightened and very red Soi Fong. Yoruichi kissed the girl on the forehead before pulling away so they could look at each other. The woman smiled kindly down at the girl, who was still terrified but more embarrassed at her failure to please the woman she loved.

Soi Fong looked away from the woman completely ashamed of her failure. Yoruichi turned Soi Fong's face so they were looking at each other once more as she spoke, "Soi, you're not ready for this yet. We don't need to do this stuff right now anyways. I'm happy enough to just be able to hold you."

Soi Fong offered a weak smile at her partner before they kissed once more. The girl felt a new wave of confidence flow through her as she wrapped her arms around Yoruichi and pulled her closer. As grateful as she was for this woman's understanding in this matter, she was still upset with her failure but this woman was just taking all of that away. Just like she had managed to take away all the pain and anger that she held towards the woman for an entire century through just one bad attempt at a 'sparring' match between the two of them that went way too far then it should have.

When they pulled apart from their kiss Yoruichi got off the bed and started to get ready for bed with a smile that told Soi Fong to do the same. It was a little strange for Yoruichi to do this since she would always just strip and put her clothes away before transforming into a cat and wait for Soi Fong to finish. But now Yoruichi was getting something to sleep in. Soi Fong sat on the bed and watched the woman curiously.

Yoruichi caught Soi Fong looking at her and she smiled, "I think it's about time for me to sleep in my human form don't you?"

"I thought it was easier for you to sleep in your cat form." Soi Fong said.

"Not necessarily." Yoruichi said. "It just lets me see how cute you could be. Everyone is a lot cuter when sleeping."

Soi Fong's embarrassment came back in full as she fell back on the bed with a light aggravated groan. The whole month of going to sleep as a cat was just to know how much Soi Fong snuggled up to her every night. Her body tensed up as Yoruichi crawled onto the bed beside her. "Tonight I'll show you just how much I cuddle up to you when you're sleeping."

She went stiff as Yoruichi grazed her arm with her fingers in an up and down movement. "Get ready for bed, Little Bee. It's been a long day."

Soi Fong got off the bed quickly to get away from the tease. Yoruichi may understand that she isn't ready for stuff like that but she still teases her without hesitation or thought. She went to her closet and changed into a silk kimono that she sleeps in before returning to her bed to find Yoruichi sitting in wait for her.

They share a smile as Yoruichi holds out her hand for the younger girl. She takes the hand and allows herself to be brought down into a lying position in the center of the bed while Yoruichi is propped up beside her and places her hand gently on the girl's face with a kind smile before leaning down to kiss her gently. The woman then proceeded down to her neck where she left a single kiss to make the girl squirm at the tingles it sent through her body.

Yoruichi rested her head on Soi Fong's shoulder and let her hand gently rub the girl's stomach to ease her into a nice sleep. Soi Fong smiled as the attention to her stomach calmed all her unease and arousal, which seemed only fitting because her arousal was caused by this woman that loved to tease more then anything else.

"I've wanted to lay down with you like this for a very long time." Yoruichi said. "Ever since I first gazed into your eyes I knew I wanted to be with you. But I never knew how much we would go through before it would be possible. Though I always knew it would have to be a secret between us at first."

"I felt the same way." Soi Fong said. "But now I know I can go through anything for you without fear."

"Is that so?" Yoruichi said as she lifted her head to kiss Soi Fong again before lowing herself to the girl's shoulder once more. "Even after everything I've done to you, you're still so loyal to me."

"What you've done does not break the oath I made to serve you." Soi Fong said. "I will always be yours to command."

"I do not wish to have control over you." Yoruichi said.

"Nor do I, so don't ever do that again." Soi Fong said as she recalled making Yoruichi do what ever she had wanted her to do.

A smile formed on Yoruichi's face. "How about we only control each other on certain occasions?"

"What do you mean?" Soi Fong asked curious as to what the seductive woman had in mind.

"If you ever need a scout for a mission I can get pretty close to anything without raising suspicion. Not many will suspect a cat of being a spy now would they." Yoruichi said calmly.

As much of a point Yoruichi had Soi Fong did not want to put her in danger for any reason what so ever. She would never use Lady Yoruichi for a reconnaissance mission. It didn't matter how close she could get Soi Fong had the Special Ops and they were trained to be undetectable. Lady Yoruichi would not be used for anything of the sort.

"I won't use you for any of that." Soi Fong said.

"Then that just leaves when we're in bed." Yoruichi said with a teasing tone. "When you're ready for that we could take turns with who is in control. Unless of course you would rather stay the submissive one between us then I don't mind dominating you."

Soi Fong's body went stiff at this new little plan of Yoruichi's. She knew what Yoruichi was implying, or at least she thought she knew what the woman was thinking. All she knew was it wouldn't be good but she trusted the woman and she knew that she would never be put in a bad situation. So no matter what happened Soi Fong knew she would be okay.

"So you're fine with me dominating you all the time then?" Yoruichi asked with a slight chuckle. "I could do that all day long."

Soi Fong recently relaxed body stiffened once more as she groaned, "Why do you always have to put me through this?"

"I'm making up for the years of your cute side that I missed." Yoruichi said with a yawn. "Sorry if it seems cruel to you. I'll find another way to make you blush while in this form. Night, Bee."

"Good night, Lady Yoruichi." Soi Fong felt a slight smile formed on the woman's face as she fell asleep.

Soi Fong gently stroked Yoruichi's hair as if she were in her cat from. She knew Yoruichi liked being called by her formal title for the same reason Soi Fong liked to be called by her old nickname. When they identified each other like they used to it gives them a slight nostalgic feeling as if they were turning back time to before Yoruichi's exile. When the two of them were young and there had been no conflict or separation between them. Yet now they were unafraid of their feelings and how they would be judged for them. They were strong enough to have this relationship now.

Yoruichi made a joyful humming sound and snuggled up to Soi Fong even more as she absentmindedly scratched behind the woman's ear. Soi Fong stopped for a moment and did it again making Yoruichi hum joyously. A blush spread across the young girls face as she found Yoruichi to be more catlike then she had thought.

A sly smile soon crossed her face as she wondered if Yoruichi knew of this simple action that made her squirm and become cute. Soi Fong's own teasing would soon begin against Yoruichi as she explored other spots that could possibly make her squirm. She checked every spot she could reach that would make the cat purr even more and found they were sensitive as well. She enjoyed making Yoruichi squirm around for awhile until the woman shifted her body. Soi Fong went still and closed her eyes hoping to seem like she was asleep just incase she woke Yoruichi.

But there was no movement and Soi Fong chanced opening her eyes a little to see if Yoruichi was awake. What she found though was amazing, beautiful, and breathtaking. The expression on the woman's face as she snuggled closer to Soi Fong was the most amazing sight she had ever seen. Soi Fong gently and carefully removed the hair from the woman's face to expose all of its beauty.

To see this expression when Yoruichi was awake would be amazing but the peaceful state she is in now wouldn't be as strong. Soi Fong realized Yoruichi had been right about everyone being cuter while sleeping. As adorable as she was when she acted like a cat was almost nothing to this expression Yoruichi held now.

Soi Fong's chest filled with warmth as she smiled down at her partner before falling into a deep sleep. She dreamed of being at the pond Yoruichi had taken her to earlier. She watched as her former self and the younger Yoruichi sat on the log in their place. They seemed to be having a good time and the current didn't want to disturb them but she needed to thank them for opening her eyes to her feelings.

She approached them and they looked over as if they were expecting her. They smiled up at the current as she bowed to them in respect. "Thank you."

She straightened up and found they were now standing as well with smiles that have yet to fade. Soi Fong returned their smile and turned to leave them. At the woods she found the current Yoruichi waiting for her with a warm smile.

Soi Fong smiled back as she approached and took her hand before they ventured into the woods to wherever Yoruichi was leading the girl. She would never question this woman and she would always obey her. There would never be any doubt between them nor would there ever be mistrust again. The two would always be happy.

**The End**

(but there is omake)


	8. Omake

**Disclaimer:**I do not own bleach**  
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><p><strong>8 - Omake<strong>

Soi Fong walked at a slow pace as she returned to squad two's area. She and Yoruichi had gotten into a slight argument. There relationship was still a well kept secret, though most of the Special Ops unit had found out they were sworn to secrecy. The problem was that Yoruichi had started going out more and others had asked questions about it nonstop about them.

Even Soi Fong had been asked about it now because they had been seen together once or twice and she had really lightened up as well. She was still cold to everyone but she had become a lot more approachable. Most just assume the cause of that is the fact that she had taken up drinking a little. The only people that had come to that conclusion though had been the soul reapers that drink regularly.

Soi Fong didn't like all the questions going around about their relationship and Yoruichi wanted to just come out about it but then there would be even more questions going around. All the new questions would be directed at Soi Fong, which is exactly what she didn't want so now they were arguing about it. The fight itself wasn't bad all they were doing is arguing. There was no yelling and no throwing things and it always ended with smiles.

Things had escalated lately and Yoruichi had taken off sometime during the night and hadn't returned yet. Soi Fong was worried about her leave and feared the upcoming confrontation even more. Whether it was with Yoruichi or others who had found out she didn't want another confrontation. She just wanted things to be alright again. She hated all the arguing between them and feared Yoruichi would leave her behind.

The Special Ops were on a silent watch for Yoruichi. They weren't out looking for her but if they spotted her in the area Soi Fong would be notified immediately. She knew she couldn't have them do more then that without causing more questions. No one knew of the argument between them. Everything about their relationship was a secret even to those who knew. They didn't ask questions when there would be no answers.

Soi Fong made her way into squad two's area and looked around for a black cat. A wave of guilt went through her as she found no sign of it around. There wasn't even a trace of her reiatsu anywhere around the area. It was too early for her to be at a bar or even drinking. So where could she be?

She came to a stop at the training grounds. Soi Fong gazed into the wooded area and wondered if she was out by the pond. They visited it frequently now since they could be alone there and it was the only place they could hold each other outside. Soi Fong wondered if Yoruichi was there now. The place had never failed to put both their minds at ease when they were there.

Her thoughts were interrupted by something rubbing against her leg. She glanced down and felt all her guilt leave her at the sight of the black cat that stretched out on her leg. It looked at her with a playful expression. She smiled down at it and bent down to pick it up. It batted at her hands playfully before allowing her to pick it up.

Soi Fong held it in her arms as she walked back to her room. She made the trip quickly wanting to get away from any eyes that may be watching so the two could work things out. More arguments were unwelcome between them. Soi Fong just wanted to work things out so they could go back to being happy.

When they got there that cat jumped out of her arms and joyfully went to the bed where it automatically laid on its back playfully as it watched her. Soi Fong walked over and sat next to it with a smile. She scratched the cat's stomach erecting a joyful purr as it continued to bat at her hand. Their argument seemed to be forgotten to the cat. But it wasn't forgotten to Soi Fong.

"I'm sorry about before." She started. "I just don't know if I'm ready for everyone to know about us just yet. I don't want anymore questions about this. I just want things to be like they were before."

The cat looked up at her but didn't respond and didn't seem forgiving. Soi Fong moved her hand away from the cat while averting her eyes. She looked across the room before she continued her apology, "I just don't want all this speculation around us. I want to enjoy your company and not have others ask about us. It's one thing for the Special Ops to know but they're sworn to secrecy."

The cat sat up and watched her quietly. She let out a sigh. "I guess you're still upset with me."

The cat walked over to her and rubbed against her arm before climbing onto her lap. It watched her as it sat down. Its eyes showed no more playfulness, just a serious stare. Soi Fong placed her hand on the cat's head before letting it fall away. She lay down on the bed to try and relax.

She felt the cat lie down and curl up. It was still for a moment before it was moving around. Soi Fong glanced up and found it was cleaning itself. She watched it curiously for a moment before a blush formed on her face and she looked away to give it privacy.

She had seen the cat groom it's self before but not to this extent. It would normally only cleaned its arms and face and not go further in Soi Fong's company. Actually she wasn't aware of how much the cat groomed itself since they bathed together regularly.

This was probably the fifth time in the month and a half that they were together that she actually saw it groom itself. And it was the first time when they were alone. Her suspicion about the cat rose a little. She was never ignored when they were alone nor did the cat ever clean itself like this. Soi Fong glanced at the cat and found it was still licking itself inappropriately in her presence.

She collapsed back down on the bed with aggravation as it finished. The cat walked over to her with a purr and started licking her neck. Soi Fong pushed the cat away in disgust making its purr stop. It looked at her with an upset look. She glanced over at it with anger. "You just licked yourself. I'm not going to let you lick me."

She looked away from the cat making it hiss at her. Soi Fong was shocked at this. She sat up and looked over at the cat again. She gave it a cool look as her suspicion of it rose even more. This was not like Yoruichi at all. The cat had already done three things it normally wouldn't do; it wasn't talking to her, it licked itself, and it hissed at her.

No matter how bad things were between them that wouldn't happen. The ignoring maybe but not the cleaning or the hiss that was completely uncalled for. There was no way she would let that tongue touch her now. It was disgusting beyond belief. If the cat had just cleaned its arms or face then it was fine but to lick _that_ and try it was gross.

The cat approached her once more and rubbed against her arm with its usual purr. Soi Fong watched it carefully as it continued to rub its face along her arm. Both were unaware of the new presence in the room with them. Soi Fong was too preoccupied with the cat while the cat was trying desperately to please her and put her back in a good mood.

Soi Fong placed a hand on the cat and scratched behind its ear making it purr even louder as a smile formed on her face. The cat was beginning to act like its usual self the more it was pet by the girl. The cat climbed onto her lap once more and looked up at her playfully. Soi Fong's smile widened as she continued to pet it.

A pair of eyes watched the girl and the cat from the window with growing anger as it silently approached the two. The new presence was noticed by the cat first as it hissed angrily making Soi Fong look over. She stood immediately at what she saw. The cat fell to the ground with a loud hiss before jumping back onto the bed for extra height.

Soi Fong looked at the cat on her bed back to the new presence before taking a step back. She had no idea what to do. Standing in front of her, with a fish in her mouth, was a fuming Yoruichi. There were no words between the two as the cat continued its hiss.

Soi Fong looked back at the cat which was now clearly an imposter. She took it by the scruff of the neck and walked to the window before tossing it out without a second thought. She turned back to Yoruichi with nervousness as if she had been caught cheating on the woman. Yoruichi had transformed back into a cat and was heading for the window. Soi Fong did nothing to stop it as it left her once more in its anger. She turned to watch it disappear but it simply remained on the windowsill before placing the fish on the frame. Their eyes met and there was no play in the cat's eyes. "I was told there was an intruder. So I came to investigate."

"Why did you bring a fish?" Soi Fong asked.

"It was my lunch." The cat replied. "If these were easy to catch I would have left it."

Soi Fong sat on the bed once more as the cat began to eat. She glanced over and noticed the slight mess that was being made. "Do you want a bowl or something?"

The cat gave her a slight dark look before going back to its meal in silence. Soi Fong watched the cat quietly as if fascinated by watching the cat eating the fish. She tried to picture it trying to catch the fish but couldn't see it happening unless the cat literally jumped into the water. Though cats don't like water but then Yoruichi isn't really a cat.

In that form she has all the preferences of a cat and acts more like a cat then she would in human form. But since she wasn't a cat she should be fine with water or would that preference change depending on what form she was in? Soi Fong knew that all the sensitive spots remained in the same place no matter what form Yoruichi took.

Her intrigue peeked as the cat started eating the fish's insides as well. She couldn't help but wonder if the cat was enjoying it as it continued without paying much mind to the attention it was getting. The smell of the fish started getting to Soi Fong making her leave the room in a hurry. She stood outside the room feeling like she was going to be sick.

She quickly made her way to her barracks bath area so she could throw up without having to clean up after herself or carry the stench in her mouth. She burst into the bathroom and locked the door behind her. Soi Fong leaned back on the door and let out a long breath to try and calm her stomach so she wouldn't be sick at all.

After a moment of heavy breathing her stomach had calmed and she was feeling better. She glanced over at the steaming bath at the far side of the bath and decided it wouldn't hurt since she was likely going to be bathing alone tonight anyways. Yoruichi seemed to be in an even worse mood now. There had been no forgiveness in those gold eyes. There probably won't be any forgiveness for awhile now. Not only had she angered her partner and she had let an imposter in she had showed it something that was strictly only meant for Yoruichi.

Soi Fong disrobed and placed her robes aside on a shelf before heading for the shower where she washes most of the dirt and sweat off. After that she quickly headed for the bath. She sank in the water a little grateful for the silence. A few days of arguing with Yoruichi was enough for Soi Fong to miss the solace of being alone. Though she knew she would soon grow lonely.

After spending so much time with the woman she had once again grown attached to her company but now Soi Fong needed more then just her company. She needed the woman's kindness and her love. She needed everything the woman could offer her. Though she wasn't sure if the woman felt the same way she did anymore. Their growing argument and now that imposter may just prove to be too much for the woman to want to stay. She may soon do what she did long ago. She may leave once more.

Soi Fong sank under the water for a moment to clear her thoughts of the possibility of Yoruichi departing once more. When she rose above the water once more she noticed a black cat sitting on the edge of the bath watching her. She covered herself immediately and glared at the cat.

The cat watched her for a moment before jumping into the water. It swam across to her without word as Soi Fong pressed against the wall. She didn't know if this were Yoruichi or the imposter cat. If it were Yoruichi then this clears up her question about the cat and water. "Identify yourself."

The cat didn't respond nor did it stop its approach as Soi Fong pressed even further against the wall. The cat stopped in front of her and transformed into the dark beauty that was Yoruichi. The woman mounted Soi Fong and placed a kiss on her neck making her body tense up. She straightened up and looked down at the girl with a smile. "Is that proof enough?"

Soi Fong offered a slight nod and found her gaze away from Yoruichi's face. The woman offered a laugh before raising the girls head so they could kiss. They parted with a smile and their argument was forgotten as soon as they saw the love in the others eyes. With this look Soi Fong knew that Yoruichi wouldn't leave anytime soon.

The two watched each other for a while before Soi Fong regained her sense of awkwardness of the naked woman sitting on her bare lap. Her eyes were averted as a deep blush formed on the girls face. Yoruichi laughed amusingly at Soi Fong's embarrassment before the young girl reached up and scratched behind the woman's ear making her hum joyously.

The woman soon realized what she was doing and backed away with a blush. Soi Fong smiled slyly as the tables turned and she approached the woman with her hidden advantage she had yet to use when Yoruichi was awake.

Soi Fong worked fast she attacked the woman's sensitive spots forcing her back as her smile widened. Soon Yoruichi would be cornered and would lose any advantage she would have. The smaller girl would for once have the upper hand. Things would go her way now and she would be the tease then at the right moment she would stop. Just like Yoruichi had done to her since they started this relationship.

Before Yoruichi was cornered she stopped and sank under the water to gain the advantage. She took Soi Fong by the waist and picked her up as she stood up making the girl struggle to free herself from the woman's tight grip. There was a fit of laughter as Yoruichi dropped forward making Soi Fong fall into the water backwards. The woman surfaced first and pulled the girl up as she coughed on air.

When the coughing stopped they kissed passionately and slowly sank under the water again. Soi Fong rested on the bottom of the bath as Yoruichi was positioned above her as her tongue entered the girl's mouth. All of the woman's actions were well restricted but welcome all the same to the younger girl. Soi Fong was no longer afraid of where any of these actions would lead but she knew the woman wouldn't go any further until the girl announced she was ready for it.

They held their kiss as long as they could before they surfaced gasping desperately for air. They smiled through their lack of breath and embraced each other tightly. All their problems had not only been forgotten but forgiven in their playful tease. The two smiled as their embrace parted and they looked deep into the others eyes. What they found was all their love for the other and a sure future that held both of them. They would never part again.

* * *

><p>The next morning Soi Fong would return to her office with Yoruichi faithfully clinging to her shoulder and find Oomeada avoiding both their eyes as he tried desperately to hide a broken arm. Soi Fong had thought nothing of it at first until she recalled the strange cat and how she had tossed it out the window and how it must have fell a few stories before reaching the ground. Though she didn't credit Oomeada with the brains to learn how to transform himself into a cat to get closer to her, she knew he would sink to low levels to try something.<p>

The cat was eying him with suspicion as well and was clearly on its guard. They were both thinking the same thing but neither wanted to say anything. If they were wrong and Yoruichi were to speak it may cause an uproar with Oomeada and Soi Fong still wasn't the type to actually care about things like this even with the good mood she was in, especially after what had happened the previous night between her and Yoruichi.

Both of them secretly eyed Oomeada with suspicion for the whole morning until he had finished his paperwork and left the office in silence. He hadn't said a word at all this morning. The cat looked over at Soi Fong and said, "He either knows, given up, or you were too loud last night."

Soi Fong turned a deep shade of red at how serious the cat was while saying that. The only argument the embarrassed young girl, recently turned woman, had was, "That was not my fault."

"Are you saying it was my fault you kept screaming?" The cat said before transforming. Yoruichi sat in a seductive sitting position to tease Soi Fong once more. "I wasn't aware that I had control of your lungs as well as your legs."

"I'll get you back for that." Soi Fong muttered angrily.

"Hardly, you are nowhere as skilled as I am with your tongue." Yoruichi teased. "You need a lot of practice before you can make me scream."

"That's because I don't clean myself with it." Soi Fong shot back.

"That's not it at all, Little Bee." Yoruichi said. "You just need practice."

"And you've had this 'practice' then?" Soi Fong said angrily.

Yoruichi averted her eyes as she spoke, "It was a long time ago, Soi. I was trying to forget the pain of leaving you behind."

They both fell silent at the last words. It was not a topic they wanted to discuss at all. It was something better left silent then spoken. Though Soi Fong had figured that out last night even if she had her suspicions before last nights events, she hadn't wanted to bring it up at all. She knew it would end in a very awkward silence between them.

Their silence was interrupted by a senior, and very loyal, Special Ops member that appeared in front of the desk in a crouched bow. He didn't dare look up to find how exposed Yoruichi was. After all he had served her before he served Soi Fong. The young woman stood and walked around the desk. "What is it?"

"The identity of the 'intruder' was discovered last night. I apologize about the delay in reporting this but…" He trailed off. Soi Fong shot an angered look at Yoruichi, who gave her an amused 'I told you so' smile. "Anyways, it has been taken care of and memories have been erased. Your secret is safe."

"It was Vice-Captain Oomeada wasn't it?" Yoruichi asked with a more serious attitude then her smile. "Yes, I realized that when I noticed the broken arm. Was that done by you or the fall?"

"Uh, we found him like that. We were not aware that he fell." He said.

"That's a shame. It would have been a funny story." Yoruichi said. "I guess you threw him out the window too hard, Soi Fong."

The two women smiled at each other briefly as the Special Ops member did his best to conceal a small chuckle. Yoruichi noticed his attempt and her smile widened. "Lighten up and laugh. It's funny but you should have seen it."

All he did was lower his head before taking his leave. The two looked at each other again before Yoruichi just shrugged. "We'll tell him over some drinks. He won't stop laughing."

"That sounds fun." Soi Fong said. "Then tonight, shall we go together?"

"What, as in friends or a couple?" Yoruichi asked.

Soi Fong walked back around the desk and slid her hands around the older woman's waist. She got a little closer and let her lips hover in front of Yoruichi's to tease her and make her want it as the young woman quietly spoke, "We're going as lovers."

**End Omake**


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